Charles Schwab Expands Crypto Platform With Solana, Avalanche, and Chainlink
The retail brokerage channel has spent 2026 narrowing its distance from dedicated crypto exchanges, and Thursday's announcement from Charles Schwab ($SCHW) is part of that sector-wide move. Schwab said it will add Solana ($SOL),…
Key takeaways
- Charles Schwab will add Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), and Chainlink (LINK) to its Schwab Crypto direct-trading platform, which already offers Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- Schwab cited client demand for established digital assets as the reason for the expansion and charges 75 basis points on the dollar value of each crypto trade.
- The additions give Schwab's 39.9 million brokerage accounts, holding $13.04 trillion in client assets, direct access to SOL.
- The listings come during a broad crypto rally, with Solana up 22%, Bitcoin up over 11% (trading at $79,801), and Ethereum up 10% over the past week.
- Schwab launched Schwab Crypto in May 2026 and added 24/7 crypto futures for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP via thinkorswim in June 2026.
The retail brokerage channel has spent 2026 narrowing its distance from dedicated crypto exchanges, and Thursday's announcement from Charles Schwab ($SCHW) is part of that sector-wide move. Schwab said it will add Solana ($SOL), Avalanche ($AVAX), and Chainlink ($LINK) to Schwab Crypto, the direct-trading platform the firm began rolling out to clients in May 2026. The service already carries Bitcoin ($BTC) and Ethereum ($ETH).
Schwab cited client demand for established digital assets as the driver. Joe Vietri, the firm's head of digital assets, said the expansion would give clients more choices for building a digital asset allocation alongside the banking and investing products Schwab already provides. The brokerage charges 75 basis points on the dollar value of each crypto trade. More tokens are planned over time, the firm said, without specifying which.
The new listings arrive against the backdrop of a sharp move higher across digital assets. The Treasury's announcement that it would double the volume of longer-dated Treasury bonds it buys back from investors has filtered into risk assets broadly. Solana is up 22% over the past week. Bitcoin, currently trading at $79,801, has gained more than 11% over the same stretch. Ethereum, at $2,505, is up 10%.
Schwab's timeline in the space has been moving at pace. The firm launched Schwab Crypto in May, added 24/7 crypto futures for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP through its thinkorswim platform in June, and is now expanding the spot lineup. The scale of the client base makes each addition matter. Solana's official X account noted the figures: 39.9 million brokerage accounts, sitting on $13.04 trillion in client assets, now have direct access to SOL.
On balance, the access story for $SOL, $AVAX, and $LINK is the headline development. The macro caveat is that the current bid under digital assets has a rate component tied to the Treasury's buyback announcement, and that variable sits beneath the structural demand story. The Treasury buyback volume, doubled on this announcement, is the number to watch.
Related reading
Source · 來源