Charles Schwab is charging into the crypto space with fees lower than its closest rival — and a customer base that dwarfs most financial platforms in America.
A Slow Roll, Not A Full LaunchThe firm set its trading fee at 0.75% — undercutting Fidelity Crypto’s 1% rate. Whether that gap is enough to pull customers from established platforms remains to be seen, but it gives Schwab a concrete edge on price.
Schwab won’t have the field to itself. Robinhood, which has been in the crypto trading space for years, offers more than 15 cryptocurrencies, operates in the EU and Asia-Pacific markets, and allows users to transfer crypto to external wallets. Schwab, for now, is starting with just Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Earnings Miss Clouds An Otherwise Strong QuarterThe crypto announcement landed on the same day Schwab posted its first-quarter 2026 results. Net revenue climbed 16% year over year to $6.48 billion — a record — but fell just short of the $6.50 billion analysts had expected. That narrow miss hit the stock hard. Shares of Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) dropped 7.70% on the day, trading at $92.51.
Schwab’s entry adds another major name to the growing list of traditional financial institutions now offering direct access to crypto assets, bringing Bitcoin and Ethereum further into the mainstream of everyday investing.
Featured image from MetaAI, chart from TradingView
