Frequently Asked Questions
Getting started
Schwab is launching Schwab Crypto, a cryptocurrency account held at Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, that will support trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Schwab Crypto accounts will be available soon. While you wait, you can sign up for updates and the opportunity to gain early access.
Not all invitation recipients will be eligible to open a Schwab Crypto account.
Most United States residents can apply for a Schwab Crypto account. However, residents of New York, Louisiana, or U.S. territories cannot apply at this time. Schwab Crypto accounts are not available internationally.
An existing crypto account may be restricted or closed if you move to one of these unsupported locations.
You need an eligible brokerage account to open a Schwab Crypto account. Eligible accounts include individual and joint brokerage accounts. Additional eligibility requirements, such as jurisdiction, apply.
If you don't have a brokerage account with us yet, you can open an account.
Most crypto accounts are opened immediately upon approval, but it can take up to two business days to review and approve an application.
Not all applicants will be eligible to open a Schwab Crypto account.
Sign up for updates and the opportunity to gain early access. If you are invited to early access, we'll send you an email from Charles Schwab Premier Bank (donotreply@email.schwab.com). You can then select the application link in the email to get started.
Invitation emails will only come from our official email address (donotreply@email.schwab.com). Please be aware of scams and impersonators. Not all invitation recipients will be eligible to open a Schwab Crypto account.
Yes, you can have multiple crypto accounts. Each one must be linked to a unique, eligible Schwab brokerage account.
No, buying and selling Bitcoin and Ethereum is not available on paperMoney at this time.
If you are having trouble completing the crypto account application, please contact us via chat or call 866-295-0914.
Most clients will be able to trade immediately after they fund their newly opened Schwab Crypto account. If you are unable to trade, your account may be pending an upgrade.
You'll get this upgrade automatically if needed when you open a crypto account. No further action is required; we'll email you when your account is ready. This process can take up to two business days and is required to trade crypto.
Schwab has educational resources available on the cryptocurrency education hub.
Funding your account
You can only transfer cash into your Schwab Crypto account from its linked brokerage account. If needed, you can transfer funds to your linked brokerage account from your other Schwab accounts or external accounts. On Schwab.com, select Move Money, then select Online Transfer. From our mobile apps, select More, then select Transfer Funds.
No. At this time, you can only move funds into your Schwab Crypto account from your linked brokerage account. However, you can transfer funds into your linked brokerage account from your other Schwab accounts or external bank accounts.
Transfers into your Schwab Crypto account made during normal business hours will be available for trading on the same day. Transfers into your Schwab Crypto account requested outside of normal business hours or on weekends will be processed the next business day.
Yes, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, cash (U.S. dollar) balances in your Schwab Crypto account are insured by the FDIC up to the standard maximum deposit insurance amount of $250,000.
Note: The cash balances are not separately insured from any funds that may be held at Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, as part of your participation in Schwab's Cash Features Program. These balances are aggregated, based on account ownership type, to determine whether a depositor has exceeded the $250,000 FDIC limit.
Buying & selling crypto
You can currently trade:
- Bitcoin (BTC/USD)
- Ethereum (ETH/USD)
No. Schwab does not issue its own cryptocurrency or token. Schwab Crypto is an account type offered by Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, that allows eligible clients to hold and trade supported cryptocurrency.
You can trade supported crypto on these Schwab platforms:
- Schwab.com
- The Schwab Mobile app
- thinkorswim® (mobile, web, desktop)
You can trade supported crypto nearly 24/7 (24 hours per day, 7 days per week, except during maintenance windows). A crypto trading day is 00:00:00 UTC – 23:59:59 UTC.
We reserve a monthly scheduled maintenance window (usually on Saturday evenings). During this up-to-two-hour period:
- You may not be able to place new orders
- Existing orders may not execute
- Existing orders that do execute may have delayed confirmations
- Positions, balances, and history may be temporarily unavailable
You will be notified ahead of scheduled maintenance via email and directly within the Schwab Crypto experiences on Schwab.com, the Schwab Mobile app, and thinkorswim.
We charge a 0.75% fee for each crypto transaction (buy and sell), with a minimum fee of $0.01. We calculate this fee as a percentage of your order's notional value and will display it before you submit your transaction. Estimated fees and actual fees may vary due to market fluctuations. Refer to the Charles Schwab Premier Bank Cryptocurrency Account Pricing Guide for details.
Fees are assessed differently depending on whether you enter the trade in dollars (USD) or coins.
- Dollar Buys: Fees are included in the amount you enter.
- Coin Buys: Fees are added to the amount you enter.
- Dollar Sells: Fees are added to the amount you enter.
- Coin Sells: Fees are deducted from the USD proceeds of the sale.
To execute your supported crypto trades, we work with third-party trading partners that provide access to market pricing and liquidity.
No. Schwab does not add a markup to crypto quotes or trades.
We display the estimated fee before you submit a trade. Once your trade is executed, the assessed fee can be viewed in your trade and activity history on Schwab.com, the Schwab Mobile app, and thinkorswim.
- Schwab.com: Go to Accounts, select Transaction History, then select your crypto account from the account selector
- Schwab Mobile app: Go to Accounts, tap your crypto account, tap History, then tap your trade
- thinkorswim web: Go to Positions, select Transaction History, then select Crypto
- thinkorswim mobile: Go to History, then tap Crypto
- thinkorswim desktop: Go to Monitor, then select Account Statement
Fees will also appear on your monthly statement.
Estimated fees and actual fees can vary due to market fluctuations that impact the final execution values.
Schwab Crypto supports these order types on all platforms:
- Market
- Limit
- Stop
- Stop limit
More order types are available on thinkorswim platforms:
- Trailing stop
- Trailing stop limit
- Other advanced order types
- Minimum: $1 (buy or sell)
- Buy maximum: $2M
- Sell maximum: no limit
Any orders over $1M (buy or sell) must be limit orders.
A $10 million maximum position limit applies to the cost basis (total amount you have invested) in each asset, not the current market value of your holdings. This means:
- The position limit is based on how much you've spent to purchase a supported cryptocurrency at Schwab (your cost basis)
- Once you've invested $10M in a specific cryptocurrency, you cannot place additional buy orders for that asset
- Your position's market value may rise above $10M due to price appreciation, but this does not affect your ability to buy more—your remaining buying power is determined by your original cost basis
- If you reach the limit, you can still sell your position at any time
Supported crypto trades typically settle immediately. After settlement, cash proceeds from sales will appear in your Schwab Crypto account and can then be transferred to your linked brokerage account.
No. Schwab Crypto accounts are not eligible for margin. You cannot buy cryptocurrency using margin, nor will your cryptocurrency balances be considered collateral for any margin account.
For certain order types, you must reserve a small amount of additional cash or crypto to account for potential price movements during the trade. This only applies to:
- Coin market buys (requires additional cash)
- Dollar market sells (requires additional crypto)
You can view your crypto positions and activity on Schwab.com, the Schwab Mobile app, and thinkorswim.
To view your crypto activity history:
- Schwab.com: Go to Accounts, select Transaction History, then select your crypto account from the account selector
- Schwab Mobile app: Go to Accounts, tap your crypto account, then tap History
- thinkorswim web: Go to Positions, select Transaction History, then select Crypto
- thinkorswim mobile: Go to History, then tap Crypto
- thinkorswim desktop: Go to Monitor, then select Account Statement
Positions, trade history, and activity will also appear on your monthly statement.
Yes. You can specify a fractional coin or dollar amount to trade as long as it's over $1 in value.
You can attempt to cancel an order if it has not yet been executed. For partially executed orders, you can attempt to cancel any remaining unexecuted portion of the order.
You can view the status of your orders and cancel eligible orders on Schwab.com, the Schwab Mobile app, or thinkorswim.
Managing your account
Yes, you legally own the cryptocurrency held in your Schwab Crypto account.
No, your Schwab Crypto account is not a deposit account and is not FDIC insured. The cryptocurrencies held in your account are not FDIC insured or SIPC protected.
However, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, cash (U.S. dollar) balances in your Schwab Crypto account are held in one or more omnibus deposit account(s) at Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, and are insured on a "pass through" basis, in aggregate, based on account ownership type by the FDIC up to the standard maximum deposit insurance amount of $250,000.
Note: The cash balances held in the omnibus deposit account(s) are not separately insured from any funds that may be held at Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, as part of your participation in Schwab's Cash Features Program. These balances are aggregated, based on account ownership type to determine whether a depositor has exceeded the $250,000 FDIC limit.
We're always updating our technology, people, and protocols to keep your personal and financial information safe, from biometric authentication to specialists dedicated to privacy and security.
You can visit our SchwabSafe® page to learn more about best practices and how to keep your account secure.
Cryptocurrencies that you hold in your Schwab Crypto account are custodied by Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, in collaboration with a regulated third-party firm, Paxos Trust Company LLC, that provides sub-custody services.
Supported cryptocurrencies are stored in a mix of cold (offline) storage and hot (online) storage. The majority of cryptocurrency is held in cold storage, though some is held in hot wallets to support day-to-day operations.
No, crypto transfers are not available. We understand the importance of this feature and are working hard to bring it to Schwab Crypto accounts in the future.
To view the Schwab Crypto Account Agreement, go to our agreements page.
Yes, you will receive a monthly statement for your Schwab Crypto account, regardless of balance or activity.
You will also receive a tax form for your Schwab Crypto account, but only if you have at least one cryptocurrency sale in a given tax year.
No, uninvested cash within your Schwab Crypto account will not earn interest.
Yes, your Schwab Crypto account is covered by the Schwab Satisfaction Guarantee. You can learn more about the Schwab Satisfaction Guarantee on our Satisfaction Guarantee Page.
Yes, your Schwab Crypto account is covered by the Schwab Security Guarantee. You can learn more about the Schwab Security Guarantee on our Security Guarantee Page.
At this time, we can't add a beneficiary to your Schwab Crypto account.
If your Schwab Crypto account was restricted and you have questions, you can contact us via chat, email, or phone at 866-295-0914.
For help, you can contact us via chat, email, or phone at 866-295-0914.
To close your Schwab Crypto account, you can contact us via chat, email, or phone at 866-295-0914. Before we can close your account, it must have a zero balance.
