Charles Schwab launched 24/7 futures trading for Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and Ripple on its thinkorswim platforms. The firm is targeting a mid-2027 debut for spot crypto trading and custody on its advisor platform, which custodies more than $5 trillion for over 16,000 registered investment advisors.
Charles Schwab launched 24/7 futures for Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and Ripple on thinkorswim, targeting a mid-2027 spot crypto debut for advisors.
Jalina Kerr, managing director and head of advisor experience at Schwab Advisor Services, said the firm is working toward a 2027 rollout for spot crypto trading and custody for financial advisors. The offering remains under development, with exact timing not yet finalized because of the regulatory and operational complexities specific to digital assets, including custody, transfers, account funding and asset movement.
Schwab Advisor Services custodies more than $5 trillion for over 16,000 registered investment advisors. The retail spot crypto trading service, launched earlier in 2026 using Paxos for sub-custody and execution, started with Bitcoin and Ether. The advisor product is expected to follow a similar asset list. Alongside the crypto update, Schwab expanded fractional investing to most US stocks and exchange-traded funds with a $1 minimum, allowing clients to invest by dollar value rather than share count.
The move intensifies competition with pure-play crypto custodians such as Coinbase Prime, which oversees roughly $330 billion in institutional assets. Advisors currently route client crypto allocations off-platform to specialized providers including Coinbase Prime, BitGo and Anchorage, creating fragmented reporting and parallel compliance workflows. A native Schwab option could pull billions in registered investment advisor allocations onto one integrated platform, consolidating digital asset positions alongside traditional holdings.
Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, highlighted the scale of the opportunity, noting that Schwab is the largest RIA custodian with more than $5 trillion in assets on its custody platform. Fidelity Digital Assets already offers institutional custody and trade execution to advisors, family offices and hedge funds, making Schwab's entry a direct challenge to both crypto-native firms and traditional rivals.
The CME Group launched 24/7 crypto futures and options trading on May 29, with more than 7,200 contracts worth roughly $50 million in notional value traded during the inaugural weekend. Tim McCourt, global head of equities, FX and alternative products at CME Group, said the shift to an always-on model represents the next natural evolution for the ecosystem, ensuring continuous price discovery for global investors. XRP futures were the fastest-ever CME contracts to cross $1 billion in open interest, achieving the threshold in three months. Schwab's 24/7 futures offering on thinkorswim gives its clients near-continuous access to the same regulated derivatives market.
The planned advisor product represents a potential inflection point for digital asset access in traditional wealth management. Kerr said advisors increasingly meet clients who already hold digital assets outside their accounts and want those positions consolidated into a regulated wealth platform.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
