Charles Schwab, the brokerage giant managing approximately $12 trillion in client assets, has begun rolling out spot cryptocurrency trading for retail U.S. customers. An initial group of clients can now trade bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) on the Schwab Crypto platform, as announced on X on Tuesday. This move follows CEO Rick Wurster's statement in July last year about introducing crypto trading, with a first-half 2026 timeline confirmed last month. The Westlake, Texas-based firm already offers crypto investments through ETFs and futures. Allowing direct trading of actual assets on a platform like Schwab could significantly accelerate mainstream crypto adoption, given its scale and existing user base of roughly 35 million clients.

Key facts

• Charles Schwab launches spot crypto trading for retail clients.
• Initial support for bitcoin and ether on Schwab Crypto platform.
• CEO confirmed first-half 2026 timeline last month.
• Firm manages $12 trillion in assets with 35 million clients.

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