Nearly every major Wall Street player is diving into crypto these days, and Charles Schwab isn’t about to miss out. The $10.8 trillion financial giant just announced plans to offer direct Bitcoin and Ether trading by 2025, joining the likes of Fidelity and Robinhood in the crypto race. It’s about time – their clients have been practically begging to keep their digital assets under one roof.
The numbers tell an interesting story. Schwab’s clients already own a whopping 20% of the crypto ETF market, with about $25 billion in crypto exposure through exchange-traded products. Most keep 98% of their wealth at Schwab, with just a tiny slice of crypto sitting on other platforms. Clients typically maintain 1-2% of crypto assets at digital-native firms. Talk about loyalty.
Schwab’s dominance shows in the numbers: their clients control 20% of crypto ETFs while keeping nearly all assets under one roof.
The timing isn’t random. Federal regulators are finally loosening their grip in 2025, rolling back those post-FTX panic rules that kept banks and brokers on crypto’s sidelines. Under Rick Wurster’s leadership, Schwab aims to redefine how investors interact with digital currencies. Like traditional centralized exchanges, they’ll provide secure custody services for users’ digital assets. Schwab’s making sure everyone knows they’re playing by the books – fully compliant, heavily regulated, the whole nine yards.
The new platform isn’t just some bare-bones crypto trading app. It’s getting the full Schwab treatment: spot trading for Bitcoin and Ether, integrated with their existing wealth management tools, plus all the risk assessment and research features their traditional investors expect.
They’re basically saying, “Hey, crypto doesn’t have to be complicated.”
What makes this move particularly interesting is how Schwab sees crypto – not as some trendy side project, but as a serious growth driver. They’re betting big on the idea that their clients want everything in one place. And why wouldn’t they? Nobody enjoys juggling multiple trading platforms.
For Schwab, this isn’t just about keeping up with competitors. It’s about transforming Wall Street’s relationship with digital assets. When a trillion-dollar institution decides to embrace crypto, it sends a pretty clear message: digital assets aren’t going anywhere. The suits have officially entered the chat.
