About 35% of American investors own crypto, and it averages 10% of their portfolios, according to Charles Schwab’s 2025 Modern Wealth Survey. Until recently, holding both meant running two platforms, and the cost of that split never appeared as a fee. It showed up as cash parked between transfers, trades that waited days to fund, and a second tax form every spring.

Stock options make that cost harder to absorb, because they run on deadlines a bank transfer doesn’t respect. With options on US stocks now sitting in the same exchange account as spot crypto, the split portfolio can finally be priced against the alternative.

What the Brokerage-Plus-Exchange Setup Actually Costs

A split setup rarely shows up as a fee line. It shows up as money…