SCHW to Feel the Heat as Vanguard Greenlights Crypto-Product Trading?

Charles Schwab SCHW is likely to face some pressure after Vanguard allowed trading in crypto-linked products on its brokerage platform. 

For years, Vanguard’s restrictions effectively pushed crypto-curious, long-term investors to keep “backup” accounts at rivals like Schwab to access regulated Bitcoin- and ether-related ETFs and funds. By opening the door, Vanguard effectively normalizes Bitcoin, Ether and broader crypto ETFs for one of the most conservative cohorts in U.S. retail and retirement investing, effectively raising the baseline for what a scaled, full-service brokerage must offer.  For Schwab, that means crypto access is no longer a nice-to-have selling point against Vanguard, with less room to charge an implicit premium in perception or pricing power.

Still, Vanguard’s pivot expands the addressable market for regulated crypto exposure that Schwab is already positioned to serve with more robust tools and breadth. The company’s platform already offers a wider spectrum of listed crypto-linked products and a far superior active-trader stack, multi-platform trading, richer analytics and better execution reporting than Vanguard’s long-term-oriented interface. 

As Vanguard’s change helps normalize crypto exposure among conservative investors, Schwab will likely benefit from higher trading activity in crypto-linked ETFs and options tied to them, where its platform scale and client-service model can shine.

Vanguard’s reversal is modestly negative for Schwab’s differentiation narrative but positive for the overall crypto-ETF pie. As Schwab accelerates its roadmap toward deeper crypto capabilities while leveraging its superior trading ecosystem, the “heat” looks more like cyclical margin pressure than a structural threat to the company’s long-term competitive standing.

What are Schwab’s Peers Doing to Expand Product Suite?

SCHW’s two close competitors are Interactive Brokers IBKR and Robinhood Markets HOOD.

Interactive Brokers is expanding its product suite aggressively. It has added daily options on European indices and broadened crypto trading capabilities, including stablecoin funding and staking. Interactive Brokers also launched "Connections," a proprietary feature integrating global markets to provide clients access to stocks, options, futures, currencies and bonds across more than 160 markets worldwide. 

Robinhood has been diversifying its offerings to capitalize on investor demands. Key launches include Cortex, an AI assistant for custom indicators, market analysis and real-time insights, and Legend, which adds advanced tools such as futures trading, short selling, simulated options returns and near-24/5 index options access. Robinhood Social introduces verified trading profiles, strategy sharing, expert portfolio tracking and soon copy trading, with users able to open up to 10 accounts for different strategies. New banking features (including expansion into mortgage loans) and a Gold credit card have broadened its personal-finance footprint.

Schwab’s Price Performance & Zacks Rank

Shares of SCHW have jumped 25.3% this year, underperforming the industry’s rally of 31.3%.
 

Schwab currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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