One of the world's largest brokers will start trading crypto assets. Whose stocks are under attack

Charles Schwab, one of the world's largest brokers, has announced the launch of bitcoin and ether trading through its new Schwab Crypto division, and has not ruled out entering the prediction market, i.e. betting on events.

Thus, the company began to compete with such platforms as Robinhood, which supports trading in stocks and cryptocurrencies, and the crypto exchange Coinbase - it also allows customers to trade stocks as well, CNBC writes.

Quotes of Robinhood and Coinbase lost about 2.5% in trading on Thursday, April 16.

"We see that our clients want to center all aspects of their financial lives at Schwab," said Charles Schwab's head of retail investments, Jonathan Craig, in a press release. - With Schwab Crypto, clients who want direct access to this asset class will be able to trade it alongside others while receiving the service, educational materials and analytics they are used to."

Schwab Crypto will launch in a few weeks and will charge a 0.75% commission on each trade. In comparison, Robinhood still offers commission-free trading, and Coinbase has fees that vary by user level. Schwab will partner with Paxos for asset custody - cryptocurrency will be accounted for in a separate account, unrelated to the brokerage.

The company is "exploring the possibility of entering the prediction market in earnest," but is only talking about financial events, Charles Schwab CEO Rick Wurster told a conference call Thursday. The broker has no plans to take bets on sports or pop culture, he said. According to Wurster, prediction markets are not yet among the key requests of clients, but Schwab is "ready to act if necessary." Competitors, including the same Robinhood, are expanding their presence in this segment, notes Bloomberg.

The giant broker's move further blurs the line between traditional finance and the growing market for digital assets, CNBC notes. Earlier, Morgan Stanley launched a spot bitcoin ETF, the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, and Goldman Sachs applied for a bitcoin-based income ETF.

Schwab shares were down 5% in trading Thursday after the brokerage reported first-quarter earnings below analysts' expectations.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor