Charles Schwab to Launch Direct Bitcoin, Ether Trading for Retail Users
Key Takeaways:
- Charles Schwab is rolling out direct cryptocurrency trading for btc-42">Bitcoin and Ether.
- The initiative is the firm’s first foray into spot crypto trading, expanding its digital asset service portfolio.
- Clients will trade crypto along with stocks and other assets on Schwab’s platforms.
- Trading incurs a fee of 75 basis points per transaction, competitive with market standards.
- Initial rollout excludes residents of New York and Louisiana, focusing on eligible US retail clients.
WEEX Crypto News, 2026-04-17 07:13:47
Schwab’s Foray into Spot Crypto Trading
Charles Schwab, among America’s largest brokerage houses, is set to introduce direct cryptocurrency trading for retail customers, focusing initially on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). This marks the company’s initial step into spot crypto trading, ushering in a new era of accessibility alongside their existing digital asset offerings.
By linking a dedicated crypto account to its acclaimed brokerage platform, Schwab allows clients to seamlessly monitor and trade these cryptocurrencies alongside traditional stocks and assets. Execution will be managed via a partnership with Paxos, a federally regulated trust, ensuring secure and trustworthy transactions.
[Place Image: Screenshot of Schwab Trading Platform]
Trading Mechanics and Fee Structure
Clients will incur a fee of 75 basis points (0.75%) per cryptocurrency transaction. This structure positions Schwab slightly above blistering options like Kraken, with fees dwindling between 0.25% and 0.40%, yet comparable to platforms like Coinbase, which start around 0.40% to 0.60% for low-volume trades. This cost composition reflects Schwab’s commitment to transparent pricing within the burgeoning crypto space.
Expansion and Limitations in Client Access
Initially, Schwab’s crypto trading will reach eligible US retail clients, although this excludes residents from New York and Louisiana due to regional regulatory considerations. Schwab’s move into spot trading complements its broader efforts, as clients already hold approximately 20% of spot crypto exchange-traded products under Schwab’s purview.
Traditional Firms Delve into Crypto Space
Traditionally, financial behemoths such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have been expanding their crypto engagements. For instance, Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF achieved impressive inflows of $30.6 million on its debut day on the NYSE Arca. Similarly, Goldman Sachs’ Bitcoin-linked ETF targets income through strategic options, offering a risk-managed approach to Bitcoin exposure.
Crypto-Native Ventures: A Switch in Strategy
While conventional firms gear towards crypto, digital native firms like Coinbase and Kraken are diversifying into traditional markets. Coinbase now facilitates trading in equities and ETFs, whilst Kraken provides tokenized equity perpetual futures, enabling leveraged exposure to indexes and commodities, embodying the convergence of traditional and digital financial spheres.
[Place Image: Chart showing Investment Shifts]
FAQs
How does Schwab’s crypto trading platform work?
Charles Schwab’s platform enables trades of Bitcoin and Ether directly through a linked crypto account on their existing brokerage interface. Custody is managed via Schwab’s banking subsidiary, with executions facilitated through a partnership with Paxos.
What are the fees for trading crypto on Schwab?
Schwab charges its users a fee of 75 basis points per transaction for cryptocurrency trades, slightly higher compared to competitors like Kraken, but within range of other market participants such as Coinbase.
Who can access Schwab’s crypto trading services?
The service is initially available to eligible US retail clients, excluding residents in New York and Louisiana, pending regulatory guidance.
What is the potential market impact of Schwab’s move?
Schwab’s entry into the crypto market signifies increased accessibility for retail investors, potentially attracting a new client base and impacting competitive dynamics in the financial industry.
How do Schwab’s fees compare to competitors?
Schwab’s fee of 0.75% per transaction is higher than Kraken’s, which ranges between 0.25%-0.40%, but aligns more closely with Coinbase, which charges between 0.40%-0.60% depending on trade volume.
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Mixin has launched USTD-margined perpetual contracts, bringing derivative trading into the chat scene.
The privacy-focused crypto wallet Mixin announced today the launch of its U-based perpetual contract (a derivative priced in USDT). Unlike traditional exchanges, Mixin has taken a new approach by "liberating" derivative trading from isolated matching engines and embedding it into the instant messaging environment.
Users can directly open positions within the app with leverage of up to 200x, while sharing positions, discussing strategies, and copy trading within private communities. Trading, social interaction, and asset management are integrated into the same interface.
Based on its non-custodial architecture, Mixin has eliminated friction from the traditional onboarding process, allowing users to participate in perpetual contract trading without identity verification.
The trading process has been streamlined into five steps:
· Choose the trading asset
· Select long or short
· Input position size and leverage
· Confirm order details
· Confirm and open the position
The interface provides real-time visualization of price, position, and profit and loss (PnL), allowing users to complete trades without switching between multiple modules.
Mixin has directly integrated social features into the derivative trading environment. Users can create private trading communities and interact around real-time positions:
· End-to-end encrypted private groups supporting up to 1024 members
· End-to-end encrypted voice communication
· One-click position sharing
· One-click trade copying
On the execution side, Mixin aggregates liquidity from multiple sources and accesses decentralized protocol and external market liquidity through a unified trading interface.
By combining social interaction with trade execution, Mixin enables users to collaborate, share, and execute trading strategies instantly within the same environment.
Mixin has also introduced a referral incentive system based on trading behavior:
· Users can join with an invite code
· Up to 60% of trading fees as referral rewards
· Incentive mechanism designed for long-term, sustainable earnings
This model aims to drive user-driven network expansion and organic growth.
Mixin's derivative transactions are built on top of its existing self-custody wallet infrastructure, with core features including:
· Separation of transaction account and asset storage
· User full control over assets
· Platform does not custody user funds
· Built-in privacy mechanisms to reduce data exposure
The system aims to strike a balance between transaction efficiency, asset security, and privacy protection.
Against the background of perpetual contracts becoming a mainstream trading tool, Mixin is exploring a different development direction by lowering barriers, enhancing social and privacy attributes.
The platform does not only view transactions as execution actions but positions them as a networked activity: transactions have social attributes, strategies can be shared, and relationships between individuals also become part of the financial system.
Mixin's design is based on a user-initiated, user-controlled model. The platform neither custodies assets nor executes transactions on behalf of users.
This model aligns with a statement issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 13, 2026, titled "Staff Statement on Whether Partial User Interface Used in Preparing Cryptocurrency Securities Transactions May Require Broker-Dealer Registration."
The statement indicates that, under the premise where transactions are entirely initiated and controlled by users, non-custodial service providers that offer neutral interfaces may not need to register as broker-dealers or exchanges.
Mixin is a decentralized, self-custodial privacy wallet designed to provide secure and efficient digital asset management services.
Its core capabilities include:
· Aggregation: integrating multi-chain assets and routing between different transaction paths to simplify user operations
· High liquidity access: connecting to various liquidity sources, including decentralized protocols and external markets
· Decentralization: achieving full user control over assets without relying on custodial intermediaries
· Privacy protection: safeguarding assets and data through MPC, CryptoNote, and end-to-end encrypted communication
Mixin has been in operation for over 8 years, supporting over 40 blockchains and more than 10,000 assets, with a global user base exceeding 10 million and an on-chain self-custodied asset scale of over $1 billion.

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