Charles Schwab is experiencing booming engagement from retail investors in its crypto products.
In an interview with CNBC, CEO Rick Wurster said visits to Schwab’s crypto platform are up 90% year-over-year, signaling strong investor appetite for Bitcoin ETFs, Bitcoin futures and other crypto exchange-traded products.
Schwab clients now hold about 20% of all crypto ETPs in the US. Wurster emphasized that the company is responding to this demand by offering a wide range of crypto investment opportunities and educational resources that combine digital access with traditional customer support through calls and branch offices.
Charles Schwab will also offer spot trading in Bitcoin in the first half of 2026. CEO Rick Wurster shared the news during Schwab’s third-quarter earnings call, where the company reported $134.4 billion in net new assets, up 48% year-over-year.
Earlier this year, the firm announced plans to offer trading in Bitcoin and Ethereum, driven by customer demand, noting that many wanted to consolidate their crypto holdings with Schwab.
Wurster’s thoughts in Charles Schwab’s earnings call marked the first time the bank has put a tentative date on the initiative.
The push into crypto comes alongside Schwab’s broader record quarter: total client assets hit $11.59 trillion, up 17% year-over-year, and daily average trades jumped 30%.
The firm’s strategy, Wurster explained, focuses on offering both advanced trading platforms like ThinkorSwim and guidance to new investors, making crypto accessible and understandable to a wider audience.
Traditional finance jumps into bitcoin
Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley released a report telling clients to allocate a maximum of between 2% and 4% of their portfolios to crypto, primarily bitcoin, based on risk profiles. The report described bitcoin as a scarce asset akin to digital gold and suggested it could play a legitimate role in diversified strategies.
It recommended regular portfolio rebalancing, ideally quarterly, and gaining exposure through exchange-traded products to manage volatility.
The guidance followed the firm’s expansion of access to digital assets via E*Trade and coincided with bitcoin hitting a new record high of around $126,200.
Earlier this week, US Bank announced its new Digital Assets and Money Movement organization, hoping to “accelerate the development of and increase revenue from new digital products and services, such as stablecoin issuance, cryptocurrency custody, asset tokenization and digital money movement.”
Also, institutional holdings in Bitcoin ETFs increased to $870.7 million in Q3 2025, an increase of $117.3 million from the previous quarter.