Schwab Debuts Schwab Crypto Spot Trading for BTC and ETH; CleanSpark Lifts Holdings to 13,561 BTC

ME News reported on April 17 (UTC+8), citing aggregated disclosures from BBX on crypto-linked equities, that Charles Schwab has formally launched Schwab Crypto™. The firm said the product will roll out in phases over the next few weeks, enabling retail clients to trade BTC and ETH on a spot basis. Schwab's announcement, released April 16 via Business Wire, said customers must open a dedicated Schwab Crypto account connected to an existing brokerage account. Custody will be provided by Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, while sub-custody and trade execution will be handled by Paxos, a blockchain infrastructure provider regulated by the OCC. The service will be available through Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile and thinkorswim, allowing clients to view crypto alongside traditional holdings. Schwab set trading fees at 0.75% per transaction, below Fidelity Crypto's 1%. The platform does not currently support crypto deposits or withdrawals, and it will not be offered in New York State, Louisiana or U.S. territories. Schwab said it oversees roughly $12.2 trillion in client assets and serves about 39 million active brokerage accounts. BBX noted that Schwab clients already represent about 20% of the U.S. spot crypto ETP market. Separately, CleanSpark, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLSK) disclosed in its March operating update released April 7 that it produced 658 BTC during the month, averaging 21.24 BTC per day. Year-to-date 2026 production totaled 1,799 BTC. As of March 31, the miner held 13,561 BTC, including 1,641 BTC pledged as collateral for derivatives, up a net 198 BTC from end-February. CleanSpark said its peak hashrate reached 50.0 EH/s, about 7% of the global network hashrate, and total contracted power capacity stood at 1.8 GW. The company reported an average March BTC sale price of about $71,396 per coin. CEO Matt Schultz said CleanSpark is progressing toward its first large-scale AI and HPC customer agreement and continues to expand AI infrastructure as a high-margin growth initiative. Market view: BBX characterized the formal debut of Schwab Crypto™ as the week's most meaningful signal for retail distribution, arguing that even a small shift within Schwab's $12.2 trillion ecosystem from ETF exposure to direct spot holdings could exert an incremental impact on BTC and ETH that would eclipse the daily volume of any native crypto platform. (Source: BBX)