Charles Schwab sees spot bitcoin and ETH trading as 'growth' area, will introduce 'sometime soon'

Charles Schwab is planning to launch spot Bitcoin and ETH trading "sometime soon." In an interview with CNBC on Friday, CEO Rick Wurster said the wealth management and banking giant's clients want to trade crypto and that the digital asset industry represents a growth area.

"Our clients are invested in crypto today,” Wurster said. “In fact, our clients hold more than 20% of the [crypto] exchange-traded products … in the entire industry."

Like many Wall Street firms, Schwab has become increasingly exposed to the crypto industry, particularly following the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024. Bitcoin ETFs, led by BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, represent one of the most successful financial product launches to date.

Notably, in 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), FDIC, and Federal Reserve withdrew restrictive guidance issued following the collapse of FTX, enabling banks to engage in crypto activities like custody and trading without prior approval. Earlier this week, those agencies issued a joint statement clarifying the risks of crypto assets.

Schwab introduced Bitcoin and Ether ETFs to its platform shortly after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission granted approval. The firm offers other crypto trading features like mixed ETFs and mutual funds as well as Bitcoin options, according to its website.

"We also anticipate launching Bitcoin and Ether sometime soon so our clients have access to that,” Wurster said. “We think that will be an acceleration of our growth."

Wurster did not elaborate on whether its retail or institutional clients are leading the interest in crypto. He noted crypto only represents about "$25 billion worth of the $10.8 trillion" worth of assets Schwab has under management. "It's still relatively small," he said, "but our clients own a big part of the market."

“What we hear from many of our clients is that 98% of their wealth here at Schwab and might hold a percent or two percent at some digital native firm to hold their crypto and they really want to bring it back to Schwab because they trust us, they want it to sit alongside their other assets,” Wurster said.

Schwab is “absolutely” looking to compete directly against crypto exchanges like Coinbase by introducing spot crypto trading. "If they’re buying their crypto at Coinbase we would love to see them bring their crypto back to Schwab," Wurster said.