Tick-Tock! Schwab's Spot Crypto Trading Is on the Clock

The Charles Schwab Corporation announced plans to launch direct spot cryptocurrency trading within the next year, capitalizing on regulatory shifts and client demand.

The Charles Schwab Corporation announced plans to launch direct spot cryptocurrency trading within the next year, capitalizing on shifting regulations and client demand. The company is also navigating macroeconomic turbulence, including uncertainty over Federal Reserve rate cuts and tariff-related market volatility.

At a recent conference, Schwab CEO Rick Wurster confirmed the firm aims to offer direct spot crypto services pending regulatory clarity, building on existing crypto-linked ETF and futures offerings. The move follows a 400% surge in traffic to its crypto resources, with 70% of visitors being prospective clients.

“We’re seeing robust engagement with the existing crypto ETFs that can be bought in the marketplace, the closed-end funds that we make available on our platform and bitcoin futures, which are also available on our platform,” Wurster said.

The Schwab CEO added: “We’ve seen that in the level of new account growth and the level of engagement in our crypto site where we saw a 400% increase in traffic to it recently, 70% of whom were prospects and what that — were not clients.”

The first quarter saw record engagement, including two all-time high trading days in April. One peak coincided with U.S. President Trump pausing tariffs, driving 14 million trades in a single day. Wurster noted clients sought Schwab’s “safe port” amid market swings, with retail account openings doubling and cash reserves rising despite tax-season outflows.

CFO Mike Verdeschi addressed macroeconomic headwinds, including expectations for up to four Fed rate cuts in 2025, which could pressure net interest margins. However, strong cash inflows and reduced high-cost debt bolstered Q1 revenue, which jumped 18% year-over-year to $5.6 billion.

Core net new assets surged 44% to $138 billion, driven by post-merger integration of TD Ameritrade clients. Legacy Ameritrade users now contribute half the growth rate of Schwab’s traditional clients, with satisfaction scores climbing as they adopt Schwab’s platforms.

Looking ahead, Schwab remains focused on balancing growth investments—including 16 new branches and artificial intelligence (AI) tools—with efficiency gains. Wurster expressed confidence in navigating “market ups and downs,” highlighting client trust and diversified revenue streams as key.