Compiled by: Blockchain Knight
Discussions emerged about the possible involvement of US multinational financial services firm Charles Schwab after the US-focused spot BTC ETF accumulated trading volumes totaling $25.36 billion over 11 days.
Eric Balchunas, chief ETF analyst at Bloomberg, said: Schwab was not the first to the market on anything, but when they came in it had a negative impact.
Recent rumors suggest that Charles Schwab is preparing to launch a spot BTC ETF, following the debut of 10 U.S. ETFs on January 11, 2024.
Lisa Shidler wrote about the development in a post where she said Schwab’s attitude towards Crypto assets was mysterious.
Shidler also dives into how Schwab is leveraging its massive scale and competitively low-fee pricing strategy to take a bold step with a BTC ETF.
Shidler further explored this topic in a discussion with Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Schwab shocks the world with this move and launches a 10 basis point product in a few months,” Balchunas told Shidler. “You never know what they have up their sleeves.”
Morningstar analyst Bryan Armour clarified to Shidler: "This approach is typical of Schwab's operating style."
Armour also said: "Overall, this is consistent with what we have seen from Schwab."
Their product development approach is more methodical than other companies, and they have used their first-mover advantage to gain a more thoughtful product lineup that can sustain them in the long run.
Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, posted on social media platform X, agreeing with Balchunas.
“Charles Schwab will join the spot BTC ETF race? I say it’s a done deal. I agree with Eric that it’s a matter of time.”
Founded in 1971, Schwab offers a full range of brokerage, banking and financial advisory services, as well as exchange-traded products (ETPs), including complex ETPs, leveraged ETPs and inverse ETPs.
Balchunas explained on social platform
Balchunas also said: "Charles Schwab has always been the first to market, but when they enter the market with extremely low prices and 30 million active brokerage accounts, they have a negative impact."
And Schwab doesn’t like Fidelity, so the success of FBTC might make them angry and raise objections.
