Schwab Readies Spot Bitcoin and Ether Trades, Signals Stablecoin Plans

Charles Schwab has finally broken cover. Speaking on Friday, chief executive Rick Wurster told investors the $10.8 trillion brokerage will let clients trade Bitcoin and Ethereum directly—scrapping the “ETF-only” gate it first put up in January—and will, at some stage, stamp its name on a new stablecoin.

ETF era gives way to direct trades

The numbers matter. Schwab’s 37 million active accounts already hold roughly one-fifth of every crypto exchange-traded product listed in the United States.

Yet those positions add up to just 0.2 percent of the firm’s client balances. Wurster thinks that tiny slice is really cash parked elsewhere. CryptoSlate

One sentence, short and sharp.

He argues the new trading rails will pull coins “back to Schwab,” letting households see shares, bonds, cash — and now tokens — on a single screen. CryptoSlate

Why move now, and what comes next?

Schwab has watched rivals such as Fidelity and Robinhood pounce on retail crypto fever; it has also seen Coinbase book record spreads from spot trades. “Absolutely we’re competing,” Wurster said of the San-Francisco exchange. CryptoSlate

• Younger customers—60 percent of Schwab’s new sign-ups—keep a sliver of savings at crypto-native apps and want one dashboard for everything. MarketWatchCryptoSlate

Wurster declined to give dates, but analysts on the call came away expecting Bitcoin and Ether buttons to appear before next summer. One paragraph, one line.

If that timing holds, Schwab would ride the same regulatory tail-wind that opened the gate for spot Bitcoin ETFs in January and Ethereum funds in May—products its custody unit already clears.

Stablecoin idea moves from chat to roadmap

Wurster went further. A Schwab-branded digital dollar, he said, “is something we do want to be able to offer.” Mitrade

He did not reveal the technical blueprint—issuer, chain, reserves—but insiders say the firm has scoped multiple pathways, including partnerships with token specialists and an in-house build. Mitrade

The table shows how Schwab dwarfs the pure-play exchange on assets yet still lacks basic coin trading. Data compiled from company filings and earnings calls. CoinspeakerCryptoSlate

One-sentence paragraph here for rhythm.

Lobbyists say a home-brand stablecoin could cement Schwab’s payment rails and give clients a cash-like on-chain asset that settles quicker than ACH transfers.

Winners, losers and a fresh skirmish with Coinbase

Coinbase shares fell two percent in after-hours trading as the news crossed terminals, trimming a 25 percent rally this month. Schwab stock, by contrast, pushed to an all-time high after the firm posted EPS of $1.14 on revenue of $5.85 billion—a 25 percent increase from a year ago. CoinspeakerMitrade

Schwab’s custody muscles mean it can undercut exchange spreads while still collecting order-flow rebates from market-makers, according to two equity analysts contacted late Friday. One sentence.

Still, the brokerage faces a wet-cement rulebook. Congress only passed the GENIUS Act, America’s first stablecoin framework, on Thursday; details on reserve audits and redemption rights remain open. Mitrade