Charles Schwab Corp. is signaling serious momentum in the crypto space—and it’s only getting started, according to the firm’s new CEO, Rick Wurster.

The Westlake, Texas-based firm is already capitalizing on strong engagement with digital assets and is poised to expand its offerings even further, Wurster explained on a recent conference call.

According to a transcript, available on Seeking Alpha, the newly appointed CEO pointed to a broad range of available products—from crypto ETFs to Bitcoin (BTC) futures—and a rapidly growing interest from both clients and potential customers, adding:

“We saw a 400% increase in traffic to our crypto site recently—70% of whom were not clients.”

That spike in traffic, Wurster noted, is a sign that Schwab’s reputation as a trusted financial brand is resonating with crypto-curious investors who may have previously been hesitant to jump in.

“As people in the industry are thinking about crypto, they’d love to work with a trusted brand… and we’re that firm.”

Spot crypto trading

While Schwab currently enables access to crypto through ETFs, closed-end funds, and futures, Wurster revealed that the firm is actively planning to offer direct access to spot crypto trading.

It’s a highly anticipated move anticipated for 2026:

“Our goal is to [launch spot crypto] in the next 12 months and we’re on a great path to be able to do that.”

Schwab’s potential entry into the spot market would mark a major shift, especially as regulatory clarity improves. Wurster framed the expansion as both a response to client demand and a strategic move to maintain the firm’s role as a top destination for retail and institutional crypto investors alike.

As digital assets evolve from fringe fascination to mainstream financial tools, Schwab’s next chapter may look more Web3 than Wall Street.

What’s the competition like?

Several firms already offer spot crypto trading, giving users direct access to buy and sell actual cryptocurrencies. Leading crypto-native exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, and Gemini dominate the space, offering robust platforms with a wide range of trading pairs and deep liquidity. These platforms are typically favored by both retail and institutional users for their user experience and advanced trading tools.

Traditional finance players are also entering the arena. Fidelity, through its Fidelity Crypto platform, offers spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading, while Robinhood and eToro enable commission-free crypto trades alongside stocks and ETFs.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with over $10 trillion in assets under management, is incorporating Bitcoin into its own model portfolio.

According to a Bloomberg report on Feb. 28, the asset manager will allocate 1% to 2% of its Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund to target model investment portfolios. These allocations, sourced from the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF under the ticker IBIT, will be directed toward the company’s portfolios that include alternative investments.

In the investment world, model portfolios are pre-structured funds designed to offer ready-made strategies. They provide managed investment strategies that invest in fund shares and are marketed to financial advisors.

Model portfolios have seen significant growth across the market, driven in part by rising interest in digital assets and crypto exchange-traded products.

BlackRock’s IBIT is currently a $48 billion spot Bitcoin ETF, holding 576,046 bitcoins, which accounts for about 2.9% of the total Bitcoin market share. According to Bloomberg, BlackRock plans to allocate 1% to 2% of IBIT into its $150 billion model portfolio.

Although this $150 billion pool represents a small portion of BlackRock’s overall model portfolio business, the inclusion of IBIT could significantly boost demand for the spot Bitcoin ETF.

Michael Gates, lead portfolio manager for target allocation ETF models at BlackRock, reiterated the company’s confidence in Bitcoin as an investment.

“We believe Bitcoin has long-term investment merit and can potentially provide unique and additive sources of diversification to portfolios,” Gates said in a note to investors on Feb. 27.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved IBIT and several other spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024. BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, WisdomTree, and VanEck were among the firms that received regulatory approval for the listing and trading of Bitcoin ETFs.

Investor demand for these funds helped push Bitcoin’s price above $69,000 in March 2024. Later, heightened interest amid the U.S. election cycle propelled Bitcoin to an all-time high above $109,000.

However, a sell-off has since driven BTC down to $79,000, with significant outflows from spot ETFs, including IBIT, in the past week.