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Charles Schwab is preparing to push deeper into crypto by targeting a 2027 rollout of spot trading, transfer, and custody capabilities for financial advisors on its custody platform. The move would bring direct digital asset access closer to one of the largest advisor ecosystems in US wealth management, extending Schwab’s crypto ambitions beyond its recently launched retail offering.
Jalina Kerr, Managing Director of Schwab Advisor Services, said during a virtual media roundtable that the firm is aiming for a launch next year, according to Citywire. The timeline is not fixed, but Kerr indicated the project remains active and on schedule. Schwab is “on track” for next year, she said, adding that the rollout would “probably” come “more like the middle of the year.”
Why This Is A Massive News For Crypto
The planned product would give advisors access to spot crypto trading, transfer and custody tools through Schwab’s custody infrastructure. That is the key distinction. Schwab already moved into direct retail crypto trading this year, but an advisor-facing rollout would put crypto inside the workflows used by registered investment advisors overseeing client portfolios, rather than leaving those clients to manage exchange accounts separately or rely solely on exchange-traded crypto products.
Schwab is a custody and brokerage giant. The company reported $12.61 trillion in total client assets as of April 30, 2026, along with 39.3 million active brokerage accounts. Within that, Schwab Advisor Services held roughly $5.31 trillion in client assets, underscoring the scale of the advisor channel that could eventually gain access to direct crypto tools.
The advisor push follows Schwab’s April announcement of Schwab Crypto, a phased retail platform that began with spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading. The retail offering lets eligible US clients trade BTC and ETH across Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile and thinkorswim, with a 75 basis point fee on the dollar value of each crypto trade. Schwab has also said it plans to add more cryptocurrencies over time and later introduce deposit and withdrawal transfer capabilities.
For now, the retail crypto account is offered by Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, with Paxos providing sub-custody and trade execution services. Schwab’s disclosures also draw a clear line between crypto and traditional brokerage protections: crypto products are “not FDIC insured, not SIPC protected, not deposits, and may lose value.”
Those details matter because they should not be automatically carried over to the advisor product. Schwab has confirmed the fee structure, custody setup and asset list for the retail launch, but it has not yet confirmed whether the 2027 advisor rollout will begin with only Bitcoin and Ethereum, whether pricing will match the retail 75 basis point fee, or whether Paxos will also support the advisor-side infrastructure.
Notably, Schwab already gives investors access to crypto-linked products, including exchange-traded products tied to Bitcoin and Ethereum, crypto-related equities, futures, mutual funds, trusts and listed options on spot Bitcoin ETPs. But direct spot trading and custody would move Schwab closer to full-service crypto infrastructure for advisors, not just market access through securities wrappers.
At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $2.32 trillion.
