Charles Schwab has added Solana, Avalanche and Chainlink to its direct crypto trading service, taking the number of digital assets available through Schwab Crypto to five. The three tokens went live on Monday 9 November for eligible retail clients, alongside bitcoin and ether.

The move takes one of the largest brokerages in the United States a step further into digital assets. Until now, Schwab Crypto offered only the two largest cryptocurrencies. Clients can now buy and sell solana, avalanche and chainlink as SOL/USD, AVAX/USD and LINK/USD through Schwab.com, the Schwab Mobile app and the thinkorswim trading platform.

What clients can now trade

Each cryptocurrency transaction carries a fee of 0.75% of the dollar value of the trade, with a $0.01 minimum fee. Schwab describes the pricing as among the lowest in the industry, although that comparison has not been independently verified.

Joe Vietri, Schwab's head of digital assets, said the expansion was part of an effort to give clients greater choice and flexibility in how they invest in digital assets. Schwab said the three tokens were chosen based on customer demand and a preference for established digital assets, and it has said it plans to add more cryptocurrencies over time without naming the next ones.

A rollout months in the making

The launch follows a timetable Schwab set out in August. The brokerage first announced on 27 August 2026 that it planned to add the three tokens in the coming months, without giving a date. The gap between that announcement and the go-live on 9 November was around 11 weeks.

Schwab Crypto itself began rolling out in May 2026 through an early access programme for selected retail clients, before opening to all eligible retail clients in October. The addition of the three new tokens is the first expansion of the line-up since that general launch, and it puts crypto holdings alongside traditional investments on the same Schwab accounts, with digital-asset education from the Schwab Center for Financial Research and round-the-clock phone and chat support.

The limits investors should know

Access is not universal. Schwab Crypto accounts are available in every US state except New York and Louisiana, and the service is not offered in US territories or internationally. Accounts may be restricted or closed if a client moves to an unsupported jurisdiction.

Schwab is also blunt about the protections that do not apply. Cryptocurrencies held through its service are not bank deposits, are not covered by FDIC insurance and are not protected by SIPC, the scheme that covers securities held at a failed brokerage. The assets are held at Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, a bank subsidiary of the group, but that does not make them deposits.

Why it matters

The launch matters because of who is doing it. Schwab is a mainstream brokerage used by millions of retail investors, and bringing Solana, Avalanche and Chainlink into its standard trading stack treats them as regular portfolio holdings rather than a specialist side product. That is a different kind of adoption from a crypto-native exchange adding a listing: it puts the tokens in front of investors who may never have opened a crypto exchange account.

Schwab has not disclosed day-one trading volumes, the number of accounts using the service or how much client money will flow into the three tokens, so the listing alone does not show how much new demand will reach their networks. Schwab also reserves the right to delay, modify or withdraw support for any announced asset based on market, regulatory, operational or risk-related developments. For now, though, the direction is clear: one of America's biggest brokerages is steadily widening the crypto menu it offers ordinary investors.

Sources: NewsBTC and Bitcoin.com News.