Charles Schwab plans to offer spot crypto trading to clients, pending regulatory changes, under incoming CEO Rick Wurster.
Charles Schwab’s Plans
Bloomberg reported that Charles Schwab, a significant financial services company in the United States, intends to provide spot crypto trading to its clients in anticipation of favorable regulatory changes that are anticipated to occur with the upcoming administration. The firm’s current president and prospective CEO, Rick Wurster, was cited in the report.
According to the report, Schwab seeks to broaden its crypto offerings in response to the success of crypto-linked products from major TradFi players, despite the fact that the company currently provides exchange-traded funds and futures. On Wednesday, the total net asset value of U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs surpassed $100 billion as they became more appealing to institutional investors.
Wurster, who will assume the CEO position on January 1, stated to Bloomberg that he does not intend to purchase cryptocurrency in the near future. However, he does provide assistance to the firm’s clients in the acquisition of crypto assets.
The firm’s decision is made in the context of a robust rally and increasing positive sentiment in the crypto market, which has been influenced by the re-election of pro-crypto Republican Donald Trump.
Trump, who was a vocal advocate for the cryptocurrency industry‘s expansion during his election campaign, committed to the establishment of a strategic bitcoin reserve for the nation, the promotion of decentralized finance and bitcoin mining, and the removal of Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler from his position.
Gensler declared on Thursday that he intends to step down from the agency on January 20, 2025. Gensler has been responsible for the enforcement of significant U.S. crypto players, such as Kraken, Binance, and Coinbase.
