Charles Schwab has expanded its direct cryptocurrency offering beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, adding Solana, Avalanche and Chainlink to Schwab Crypto. According to the company’s official November 9 announcement, eligible clients can now buy and sell SOL, AVAX and LINK directly alongside BTC and ETH, bringing the platform’s spot crypto lineup to five assets.
The additions complete a rollout Schwab first announced in August. Schwab Crypto began early access in May and became available to all eligible retail clients in October, rather than launching in April as initially described. The service integrates direct crypto ownership into Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile and the thinkorswim platform, allowing clients to manage digital assets alongside their traditional investments.
Schwab Expands Direct Crypto Access
Trading costs remain unchanged with the expanded asset list. Schwab charges 0.75% of the notional value of each crypto purchase or sale, with a minimum fee of $0.01 and no additional spread. Schwab Crypto accounts are offered through Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, rather than the company’s broker-dealer entity.
Geographic access remains restricted. The accounts are currently unavailable to residents of New York and Louisiana, customers in U.S. territories and international clients. Cryptocurrencies held through the service are not bank deposits, are not FDIC insured and are not protected by SIPC, despite Schwab Premier Bank itself being an FDIC-member institution.
Schwab has also begun enabling onchain transfers for supported assets. Clients whose accounts have been activated for the feature can send crypto to external wallets, receive supported assets and transfer crypto between Schwab Crypto accounts. Transfer functionality is still being introduced gradually, with Schwab notifying clients when their individual accounts become eligible.
The expansion places Schwab alongside other established financial institutions bringing direct digital-asset trading into existing client platforms. Morgan Stanley has already embedded direct crypto trading into E*Trade, while Swiss cantonal bank BancaStato integrated Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and Solana trading through Sygnum and Avaloq. The common model is increasingly to place crypto execution inside existing banking or brokerage relationships rather than require a standalone crypto exchange account.
Spot Tokens Remain Separate From Derivatives
Schwab already offered exposure to more cryptocurrencies through other products before adding the three tokens to spot trading. Its futures platform supports Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and XRP contracts, including micro versions of several products. XRP therefore remains available at Schwab through derivatives but is not currently one of the five cryptocurrencies that clients can directly purchase through Schwab Crypto.
The selection also broadens the types of blockchain exposure available through the account. Solana has been expanding institutional infrastructure through mechanisms such as its delivery-versus-payment settlement standard, while Avalanche has added tokenized securities and asset-backed financing initiatives. LINK provides exposure to Chainlink’s oracle and interoperability infrastructure rather than another Layer 1 network.
Those network developments provide context for the assets Schwab selected, but listing SOL, AVAX and LINK does not demonstrate increased usage of their underlying networks or investor demand for any individual token. Schwab has not disclosed trading volume, client holdings or adoption figures for the newly added assets.
Joe Vietri, Schwab’s head of digital assets, said the company intends to continue expanding the range of cryptocurrencies and digital assets available through Schwab Crypto. No additional spot tokens or launch dates have yet been announced, leaving the current offering at BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX and LINK.