Charles Schwab Sees 90% Spike in Crypto Interest, Plans Spot Bitcoin Trading in 2026

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Charles Schwab Sees 90% Spike in Crypto Interest, Plans Spot Bitcoin Trading in 2026

Charles Schwab is seeing booming engagement from retail investors in its crypto products.

In an interview with CNBC, CEO Rick Wurster said that visits to Schwab’s crypto platform have increased by 90% year-over-year, signaling strong investor appetite for Bitcoin ETFs, Bitcoin futures, and other crypto exchange-traded products.

Schwab clients now hold roughly 20% of all crypto ETPs in the U.S. Wurster emphasized that the company is responding to this demand by providing a wide array of crypto investment options and educational resources, combining digital access with traditional client support through calls and branch offices.

Charles Schwab will also offer spot Bitcoin trading in the first half of 2026. CEO Rick Wurster shared the news during Schwab’s third-quarter earnings call, where the company reported $134.4 billion in net new assets, marking a 48% year-over-year increase.

Earlier this year, the firm announced plans to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum trading, driven by client demand, noting many wanted to consolidate their crypto holdings with Schwab.

Wurster’s thoughts in the Charles Schwab’s earning call marked the first time the bank put a tentative date on the initiative. 

The push into crypto comes alongside Schwab’s broader record-breaking quarter: total client assets reached $11.59 trillion, up 17% year-over-year, and daily average trades jumped 30%. 

The firm’s strategy, Wurster explained, focuses on offering both advanced trading platforms like ThinkorSwim and guidance for new investors, making crypto accessible and understandable for a broader audience.

Traditional finance is jumping into bitcoin

Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley released a report telling clients to allocate at maximum between 2% and 4% of their portfolios to crypto, primarily bitcoin, based on risk profiles. The report described bitcoin as a scarce asset akin to digital gold and suggested it could play a legitimate role in diversified strategies. 

It recommended regular portfolio rebalancing, ideally quarterly, and gaining exposure through exchange-traded products to manage volatility. 

The guidance followed the firm’s expansion of digital asset access via E*Trade and coincided with bitcoin reaching a new all-time high of around $126,200.

Earlier this week, U.S. Bank announced their new Digital Assets and Money Movement organization, in hopes to “to accelerate development of and grow revenue from emerging digital products and services such as stablecoin issuance, cryptocurrency custody, asset tokenization and digital money movement.”

Also, institutional holdings in Bitcoin ETFs rose to $870.7 million in Q3 2025, up $117.3 million from the previous quarter.

This post Charles Schwab Sees 90% Spike in Crypto Interest, Plans Spot Bitcoin Trading in 2026 first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

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