Charles Schwab announced Schwab Crypto in April 2026, describing a phased rollout of direct bitcoin and ethereum trading for eligible retail clients. The company said the service would sit alongside research, education, support, and existing brokerage capabilities.
Schwab's release says the initial offer includes direct trading in bitcoin and ethereum, side-by-side viewing with traditional investments, 24/7 support, and pricing of 75 basis points on each trade. It also says Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB will offer the crypto account, with Paxos providing sub-custody and trade execution services.
Credit-union relevance
This does not mean credit unions need to match Schwab product for product. Many credit unions should not offer direct crypto exposure at all. The more defensible takeaway is that large financial brands are normalizing digital-asset access inside mainstream financial interfaces, which can change what digitally active members expect from education, disclosures, and account aggregation.
Credit unions considering any digital-asset relationship should use NCUA's digital-asset third-party guidance and existing vendor due-diligence standards. That means legal review, board-approved risk appetite, member disclosures, custody analysis, complaint handling, cybersecurity review, and clear separation between insured deposits and speculative assets.
What changed
The earlier version used stale monitoring language tied to a 2025 window and overstated the retention-risk framing. The corrected version treats Schwab's launch as an expectations and education signal, not as proof that credit unions must enter crypto trading.