U.S. brokerage Charles Schwab (NYSE: $SCHW) has launched spot cryptocurrency trading services for retail investors in the U.S.
The firm, which manages $12 trillion U.S. of assets, says that individual investors can now trade Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: $ETH), and other digital assets on its “Schwab Crypto” platform.
Texas-based Charles Schwab already offered crypto investments through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and futures trading.
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But this is the first time that clients can trade specific cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Charles Schwab is one of the largest brokerages in the world with 35 million clients globally.
The ability to directly trade crypto through a company with the scale of Charles Schwab could help accelerate mainstream adoption of digital assets, say analysts.
The new crypto trading service puts Charles Schwab in direct competition with other brokerages such as Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: $COIN) and Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: $HOOD).
SCHW stock has increased 5% in the past year to trade at $90.18 U.S. per share.