Charles Schwab seeks direct crypto investment offerings upon regulatory changes: Bloomberg
Charles Schwab, a major U.S. financial services firm, seeks to offer spot crypto trading to its clients upon favorable regulatory changes likely to come with the upcoming administration, Bloomberg reported, citing the firm’s current president and incoming chief executive officer Rick Wurster.
While Schwab currently offers crypto exchange-traded funds and futures, the company aims to expand its crypto offerings as crypto-linked products from major TradFi players thrive, according to the report . U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, for instance, saw their total net asset value exceed $100 billion on Wednesday as they became increasingly appealing to institutional investors.
Wurster, who will step into the CEO role on Jan. 1, told Bloomberg that he personally does not plan on buying crypto anytime soon, but supports the firm’s clients in purchasing crypto assets.
The firm’s decision comes amid a strong rally and growing positive sentiment in the crypto market, fueled by the re-election of pro-crypto Republican Donald Trump.
Trump, a vocal proponent of the cryptocurrency industry's growth throughout his election campaign, pledged to set up a strategic bitcoin reserve for the country, strong support for bitcoin mining and decentralized finance, and remove Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler from his position.
Gensler announced on Thursday that he plans to leave the agency on Jan. 20, 2025. Gensler has led enforcement actions against major U.S. crypto players, including Coinbase, Binance and Kraken.
