55-year-old asset manager teases spot Bitcoin, Ethereum trading

Charles Schwab is making its most direct move yet into the crypto market.

The asset management giant has opened a waitlist for a new "Schwab Crypto^TM" trading platform that will allow clients to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) directly.

The development comes just a few months after CEO Rick Wurster said the company is working toward launching a crypto trading platform in the first half of 2026.

When is the rollout happening?

The rollout of the platform is expected in the first half of 2026, as reported by CoinDesk and will be offered through Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB.

Once launched, it will be directly competing with platforms like Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) and Robinhood (Nasdaq: HOOD).

With $12.22 trillion in client assets as of February 2026, Charles Schwab's existing clients are already exposed to crypto through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including spot Bitcoin ETFs (like IBIT, FBTC) and crypto industry thematic funds.

In a podcast published on Apr. 2, Wurster described how some of their clients, especially the younger ones, are actively investing in digital assets through ETFs, equities, and futures that track Bitcoin.

"About 5% of our clients have exposure to crypto at Schwab. Now, we also know there's a lot of Schwab clients that hold spot crypto and they hold it at Coinbase or Robinhood because we actually today don't have spot crypto. We'll have it in the next several months," Wurster explained.

However, there are some limitations. As per the fine print, the service will not be available to clients in:

U.S. states of New York or Louisiana
U.S. territories
International jurisdictions

The U.S. territories include American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands , as well as 9 uninhabited and 2 unclaimed territories.

Accounts can be shut down if a client relocates to an unsupported location. Eligibility is not guaranteed for all clients either.

On the protection front, the disclosures make clear that crypto held through Premier Bank sits outside the safety nets that Schwab clients are used to. It is not covered by Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) protection, not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and not classified as a security.

This means that if the value of the asset drops to zero, there is no institutional backstop to catch the fall.