Schwab jumps into crypto, and Coinbase should squint

Schwab finally opens the crypto door

Charles Schwab is rolling out Schwab Crypto, giving its 39 million active brokerage customers access to Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for the first time. It’s a phased launch over the next few weeks, so this isn’t some vague “coming soon” slide deck promise — it’s the real thing.

Why this matters for your portfolio

This is the kind of move that makes crypto-native names sit up a little straighter. Schwab isn’t starting from zero; it already has trillions in client assets and a massive retail base that can now dabble in spot crypto without leaving the Schwab ecosystem. For Coinbase and Robinhood, that means another well-funded, brand-name competitor just walked onto the field wearing a very expensive suit.

The fine print is doing a lot of work

A few guardrails keep the launch from being a full crypto free-for-all:

• No deposits or withdrawals at launch
• Only BTC and ETH at first
• Not available in New York or Louisiana
• Clients have to buy through Schwab’s crypto accounts linked to brokerage accounts
• Paxos will handle execution while Schwab acts as custodian through Premier Bank

So yes, it’s meaningful — but it’s also deliberately controlled. Schwab is dipping a toe in the pool, not cannonballing into the deep end.

Big picture: the mainstreaming continues

Schwab charging 75 basis points per transaction shows there’s real economics here, not just “we had to do crypto because everyone else is.” And the bigger story is that traditional finance keeps inching deeper into digital assets, which is great for adoption and not exactly comforting if you’re a pure-play crypto platform living off retail flow. The stock market loves a new revenue stream — especially when it comes with a built-in giant customer list.