A New Way for Investors to Buy Bitcoin and Ethereum at Schwab

Brokerage giant Charles Schwab now lets regular investors trade Bitcoin and Ethereum directly. The service started small, rolling out to a limited group first. Before this, Schwab clients could only get indirect exposure through ETFs or futures. Now, they can buy the actual coins through a separate account called Schwab Crypto. Trading fees are set at 0. 75% per transaction. Schwab uses its Premier Bank to hold the coins safely. A company called Paxos handles the buying and selling behind the scenes. The service works in every U. S. state except New York and Louisiana.Schwab’s move comes at a time when crypto ETFs are seeing big withdrawals. Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs lost over $233 million combined in recent weeks. Ethereum ETFs took the biggest hit, losing $130 million despite having fewer total assets. This makes people wonder if investors are shifting from ETFs to buying crypto directly through regular brokerages. Behind the scenes, Schwab’s business is booming. The company manages nearly $12 trillion in client money. It also serves over 39 million active accounts. First-quarter earnings jumped 38% compared to last year. Revenue grew by 16% in the same period. The timing is interesting. Schwab launched crypto trading while ETFs were losing serious cash. Does this mean investors are losing faith in ETFs? Or is this just a test run for bigger changes ahead? Only time will tell.