Charles Schwab unveils its long-awaited crypto investing product, Schwab Crypto, with a 0.75% fee on every crypto trade and plans to launch in the coming weeks
Context & Ripple Effects
Schwab had already participated with Citadel Securities and Fidelity Digital Assets in the launch of EDX Markets, indicating an earlier institutional-market commitment to crypto infrastructure. Schwab Crypto brings that involvement closer to Schwab’s own client relationship.
The related coverage then shows Morgan Stanley piloting crypto trading through E*Trade at prices below Schwab’s stated rate, turning crypto access at established brokerages into a visible pricing and product competition.
First-order effects
- Schwab clients are set to gain access to bitcoin and ether trading through Schwab Crypto, with a 0.75% charge on each trade.
- Schwab adds a direct retail crypto offering alongside its prior involvement in crypto-market infrastructure.
Second-order effects
- Morgan Stanley’s lower-priced E*Trade pilot puts immediate pressure on Schwab’s 0.75% trading charge and makes price comparison more salient for brokerage customers.
- Crypto trading platforms and incumbent brokers will face a more crowded distribution market as large wealth and brokerage brands offer access through their existing customer channels.
Third-order effects
- If major brokerages continue to launch comparable products, crypto trading is likely to become a standard brokerage feature rather than a service concentrated in crypto-native venues.
- Competition may increasingly shift from simply offering crypto access to the economics, integration, and customer experience of that access; the coverage does not establish which pricing model will prevail.
The trend: Large incumbent brokerages are moving crypto trading from a specialized product category into mainstream brokerage account infrastructure, with fees becoming an important competitive lever.