Schwab Sees Crypto ETFs as RIAs’ Main Route to Digital Asset Allocations

Schwab expects crypto ETFs to remain the main way financial advisors build digital asset exposure into client portfolios, even as the custodian prepares to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum spot trading to registered investment advisors by mid-2027. The distinction reflects two different uses: ETFs can fit within a portfolio allocation, while direct ownership is more often driven by an advisor’s or client’s individual preference to trade.

“I think when advisors are convicted about wanting to create exposure to crypto in a portfolio construct, it makes a lot more sense to use an ETF, alongside the other ETFs that they're using to build out that allocation,” Schwab head of advisor services Jon Beatty said at Schwab IMPACT in Boston. “Spot trading in crypto is more of a trading program, and so that's when it tends to be individually directed versus part of an allocation approach.”

Two ways to hold digital assets

Spot trading gives an investor direct ownership of cryptocurrency, which trades around the clock. A crypto ETF holds the coins on investors’ behalf and trades on the stock market during regular market hours. That difference affects how the exposure fits into a portfolio: an ETF can sit alongside other funds in an allocation, while direct holdings can be managed as a separate position.

Beatty said most crypto activity on Schwab’s platform comes through ETFs when clients are building an asset allocation. “Individual spot trading is probably a trading pattern, and either that is the advisor's conviction or the end client's conviction,” he said. “But when you're doing asset allocation, that's why we see most of the crypto activity on our platform coming through the ETF format.”

Schwab began allowing retail investors to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum directly in May. In August, it announced plans to expand that retail offering to include Solana, Avalanche and Chainlink. Its planned advisor service is currently expected to start with Bitcoin and Ethereum, with Jalina Kerr, head of advisor experience at Schwab Advisor Services, saying advisors should be able to begin spot trading those assets by the middle of next year.

Client interest is driving the service

Kerr said demand for access often comes from clients who already own crypto elsewhere and want to bring those holdings into their Schwab portfolio. Some advisors may be less persuaded by the assets themselves, she said, while still responding to clients who want their financial holdings visible in one place.

“What we often hear is that the advisors themselves, while they may not be a big believer of it, [many] of their clients have [crypto], house it elsewhere, and want to actually be able to bring it into their Schwab portfolio so that they can see it all in one spot,” Kerr said. She described consolidation, safety and including crypto in the broader wealth conversation as part of Schwab’s rationale for offering the service.

That demand has limits. Schwab’s 2026 Independent Advisor Outlook Study found that 16% of registered investment advisory firms currently offer crypto or digital assets, the lowest share among the 13 services included in the survey. Another 15% said they plan to add the service within three years, a potential expansion that would bring adoption to nearly a third of firms.

Client interest was also a minority view among advisors surveyed: 28% said their clients were interested in crypto access, while 59% said they were not. Where interest exists, it tends to focus on familiar assets. Among advisors whose clients want access, 87% said those clients favor established coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The survey covered 1,235 Schwab-custodied advisors representing $497 billion in assets. It was conducted from July 13 to July 30. Those figures suggest that the planned service is responding to a specific segment of clients, rather than a broad shift among advisory firms toward offering digital assets.

Succession may shape future demand

Schwab Asset Management strategy, innovation and stewardship head David Botset pointed to generational wealth transfer as another reason advisors are preparing for questions about crypto. At IMPACT, he described an advisor who asked when he could begin custodying clients’ Bitcoin with Schwab. The advisor was thinking about younger family members who may want access to the asset as wealth passes between generations.

“This advisor is thinking about the wealth transfer that’s happening [with] his clients, and that younger generation has a lot more interest,” Botset said. “They’re like, ‘I need to get smart on this because as that transition happens, the kids of my clients are asking for it.’” In the study, 26% of firms that already offer crypto cited attracting younger clients as a reason.

For advisors, the practical question is how to handle those requests within existing portfolio conversations. ETF access may suit clients seeking crypto exposure as part of a broader allocation; direct ownership may better match clients who want to hold and trade the underlying assets. The survey figures show that both advisor adoption and client interest remain limited, while Schwab’s planned service points to continued demand for custody and access from clients who already own crypto elsewhere.

As the mid-2027 target approaches, the shape of the service and the level of client uptake will help clarify whether spot trading becomes a meaningful addition to advisory portfolios or mainly serves clients seeking to consolidate existing holdings.