San Francisco, CA, USA : People walking past a branch of the American bank and stock brokerage firm Charles Schwab Corporation, in the Financial District of San Francisco.
getty
The most consequential crypto launch of 2026 happened with almost no ceremony. On May 13, Charles Schwab began rolling out spot trading in bitcoin and ether to retail clients, inside the half-year window CEO Rick Wurster had promised, at a flat 75 basis points per trade, custodied at Schwab’s own bank with Paxos providing sub-custody and execution. By the July earnings call the rollout was “going as planned”, a crypto transfers pilot was starting, and Schwab had taken an equity stake in Paxos. The firm behind it reported $13.1 trillion in client assets and 39.8…
