Charles Schwab revealed a few details about its upcoming cryptocurrency offering, without confirming a launch date. The broker has partnered with OCC-regulated Paxos for trade execution and sub-custody, with its own Charles Schwab Premier Bank acting as primary custodian.
Initially the broker will only offer bitcoin and ethereum, which can be traded but not transferred, mirroring a phased approach taken by PayPal, another Paxos partner. Schwab is committed to offering fees of 75 basis points. A previous client survey showed that the most valued features of a crypto service include transparent, low pricing, brand reputation and safety. The company also noted that its clients hold around 20% of spot crypto exchange traded products (ETPs).
“With Schwab Crypto, clients who want direct access to the asset class can trade it alongside their other investments, while benefiting from the service, education, and research they expect from us,” said Jonathan Craig, Head of Retail Investing at Charles Schwab.
Schwab eyes stablecoins
Beyond spot trading, Schwab is also eyeing the stablecoin market. Last year Charles Schwab CEO Rick Wurster said the company is planning to launch its own stablecoin, which has clear commercial logic given a stablecoin’s potential to substitute for brokerage account balances. Like many other brokers, net interest income makes up a massive proportion of Charles Schwab’s revenues, amounting to 49% of the company’s $24 billion top line in 2025. A stablecoin play also reinforces the Paxos partnership, given Paxos has been a leading stablecoin issuer for years.
Schwab is less enthusiastic about tokenized stocks, as Wurster is not convinced the technology solves any problems given the efficiencies of US markets.
Paxos was originally slated to provide custody for EDX Markets, an institutional trading venue in which Schwab was a founding joint venture partner. However, EDX subsequently switched to Anchorage Digital, which has a national trust charter. Paxos received its provisional national trust charter approval in December 2025. The earlier EDX connection suggests Schwab and Paxos are not strangers, which may have shaped the current partnership choice.
