Charles Schwab just flipped the switch on $BTC and $ETH trading. We're talking about a $13 trillion asset manager — not some crypto-native exchange, but one of the largest traditional brokerages in the US.
This matters because it's distribution at scale. Schwab has 35+ million client accounts. Most of these people have never touched crypto, don't want to deal with self-custody, and sure as hell aren't setting up a MetaMask wallet. Now they can buy Bitcoin and Ethereum the same way they buy Apple stock.
The infrastructure narrative is playing out exactly as expected: Coinbase custody in the back, regulated rails, tax reporting built in. No friction. No scary new interfaces. Just click, buy, done.
This is how you onboard the next wave — not through ideology, but through convenience. When the tools are already in your brokerage account, the psychological barrier drops to near zero.
We've seen this pattern before with gold ETFs. Once the product fits into existing financial plumbing, adoption accelerates. Schwab's move signals that crypto is no longer alternative — it's just another asset class on the menu.
The real question now: how fast do the other mega-brokers follow? Because once one moves, the rest have to or risk looking outdated.
This matters because it's distribution at scale. Schwab has 35+ million client accounts. Most of these people have never touched crypto, don't want to deal with self-custody, and sure as hell aren't setting up a MetaMask wallet. Now they can buy Bitcoin and Ethereum the same way they buy Apple stock.
The infrastructure narrative is playing out exactly as expected: Coinbase custody in the back, regulated rails, tax reporting built in. No friction. No scary new interfaces. Just click, buy, done.
This is how you onboard the next wave — not through ideology, but through convenience. When the tools are already in your brokerage account, the psychological barrier drops to near zero.
We've seen this pattern before with gold ETFs. Once the product fits into existing financial plumbing, adoption accelerates. Schwab's move signals that crypto is no longer alternative — it's just another asset class on the menu.
The real question now: how fast do the other mega-brokers follow? Because once one moves, the rest have to or risk looking outdated.