Charles Schwab Just Added Solana, Avalanche and Chainlink — XRP Snubbed Again: 5 Numbers That Decide If You Should Buy There
America's $13.33 trillion broker just opened SOL, AVAX and LINK trading at a flat 0.75% fee — but no staking, no New York, and XRP left out again. Here are the 5 numbers that decide whether Schwab beats your exchange.
America's $13.33 Trillion Broker Just Opened the Altcoin Door — and Left XRP Standing Outside
Charles Schwab — the brokerage holding $13.33 trillion in client assets — switched on trading in Solana, Avalanche and Chainlink on November 9, 2026. That takes Schwab Crypto from two coins to five, puts three of the market's biggest altcoins inside the same app where millions of Americans already hold their stocks and retirement accounts, and charges a flat 0.75% per trade. XRP, the week's worst-performing top-10 coin, was left off the list again. If you already bank with Schwab, this changes where you can buy crypto — and what it costs you. Here are the five numbers that decide whether Schwab is the right place to buy.
What Schwab Actually Announced on November 9
On Monday, November 9, 2026, Charles Schwab said eligible retail clients can now buy and sell solana (SOL), avalanche (AVAX) and chainlink (LINK) through Schwab Crypto, alongside bitcoin and ether. The three new listings trade as SOL/USD, AVAX/USD and LINK/USD on Schwab.com, the Schwab Mobile app and thinkorswim — the same screens where clients already watch their stocks, funds and options. The announcement completed a plan Schwab first laid out on August 27, when it said the three tokens would arrive "in the coming months" without giving a date. It took 74 days.
The timeline matters because it shows how deliberately Schwab is moving. Schwab Crypto began rolling out in early access in May 2026, opened to all eligible retail clients in October, and only now — six months after the first clients got in — added its first altcoins beyond bitcoin and ether. Schwab described the three additions as "established cryptocurrencies that align with client demand" and said it plans to add more digital assets over time, without naming the next ones or giving a timetable. If you are wondering whether your coin is next, Schwab has given no clue. For the full timeline of how Schwab built this service, see our complete Schwab crypto guide.
Schwab's Five Crypto Assets at a Glance
Five coins now sit inside Schwab Crypto. Here is what each one is, what it cost on November 9, and why Schwab picked it.
| Asset | Price, Nov 9 close | What it does | Why Schwab picked it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $75,248 | Digital gold; the original cryptocurrency and the market's reserve asset | The default first crypto for any mainstream platform |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $2,132 | Smart-contract platform behind most DeFi and tokenization | The second-largest crypto by market value |
| Solana (SOL) | $86.61 | High-speed blockchain for payments, trading apps and memecoins | The fastest-growing major ecosystem by user activity |
| Avalanche (AVAX) | $8.65 | Blockchain built for institutions and tokenized real-world assets | The NYSE just tapped it for its tokenized-securities venue |
| Chainlink (LINK) | $10.56 | Oracle network feeding real-world prices into blockchains | The plumbing Wall Street's tokenization projects run on |
Notice the pattern: Schwab did not pick the three hottest coins of the month. It picked three infrastructure tokens with real institutional use — Solana for speed, Avalanche for tokenized assets, Chainlink for data. All three are also deep below their all-time highs: LINK is about 80% below its $52.70 peak, and AVAX is roughly 94% below its peak, so Schwab is offering them after the crash, not at the top. Our beginner guides explain each one in plain English: What Is Solana?, What Is Avalanche? and What Is Chainlink?.
The 0.75% Fee: What a Trade Actually Costs You
Schwab charges 0.75% of the dollar value of every crypto trade, with a $0.01 minimum fee and — in Schwab's words — no additional spread. That is simple, transparent and easy to compare. It is also not cheap. Here is the math:
| Trade size | Fee to buy | Fee to sell | Round-trip cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $7.50 | $7.50 | $15.00 |
| $5,000 | $37.50 | $37.50 | $75.00 |
| $10,000 | $75.00 | $75.00 | $150.00 |
| $50,000 | $375.00 | $375.00 | $750.00 |
| $100,000 | $750.00 | $750.00 | $1,500.00 |
Two things stand out. First, the fee is the same whether you buy $1,000 or $100,000 — there is no volume discount, which punishes larger traders most. Second, the round trip matters: a $10,000 position needs to rise 1.5% just to break even after Schwab's buy and sell fees. Contrast that with Schwab's stock trading, which is commission-free, and the 0.75% looks like a deliberate toll on convenience — you pay for buying crypto in the same account as your retirement savings, with 24/7 phone and chat support and Schwab's research attached. Dedicated crypto exchanges often charge less per trade, but they do not hold your IRA. Compare the full fee landscape in our ranking of the best crypto exchanges in the US in 2026 before deciding where a trade belongs.
The Catch: No Staking, No Transfers, No New York
Schwab's offering has three hard limits that decide whether it fits you.
No staking. Schwab offers no staking at all. That matters more than it sounds. SOL and AVAX are proof-of-stake networks: holders who stake their coins earn a yield for helping secure the network. Buy SOL on Schwab and you get the price exposure — but none of the staking income. Over years, that forgone yield is a real cost on top of the 0.75% trading fee, and it is the single biggest reason a long-term holder might still prefer a dedicated exchange or self-custody. If staking income matters to your plan, read our crypto staking explainer first.
Custody sits with a bank subsidiary — with no FDIC or SIPC cover. Schwab Crypto accounts are offered by Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, a bank subsidiary inside the Schwab group, which acts as custodian. Schwab's own disclosures are blunt: the crypto assets are not bank deposits, are not FDIC-insured, are not SIPC-protected and are not securities. That is the industry-standard position for crypto, but it is worth stating plainly — the protections that cover your Schwab cash and stocks do not cover your SOL, AVAX or LINK.
Geography still excludes millions. Schwab Crypto is available in 48 states. Residents of New York and Louisiana cannot open accounts, and neither can clients in US territories or international jurisdictions. Schwab also says not all customers qualify, and it reserves the right to "delay, modify, or withdraw support for any announced asset based on market, regulatory, operational, or risk-related developments" — in other words, a listing is not a promise.
Why XRP Got Snubbed — Again
The most revealing part of Schwab's announcement is the coin that is not on it. XRP was again excluded from Schwab Crypto, even as the platform expanded. Schwab said it plans to add more assets over time but gave no word on XRP or a timeline — the same silence it has kept all year.
The timing is brutal for XRP holders. XRP was the worst performer among the top 10 coins over the past 24 hours, falling 6.06% to $1.09, and it has lost 12.49% over the past seven days — worse than bitcoin's 4.90% and ether's 7.12% over the same period. Futures open interest in XRP dropped 9.2% as traders pulled capital out. On November 4, a staggering 418.5 million XRP left Binance in a single day — the largest one-day outflow in roughly nine months. And demand through US spot XRP ETFs has gone quiet: Canary's XRPC fund posted a net outflow of $529,500 on November 2, and the tracked funds have since logged zero net flows for several sessions running.
There was one piece of genuinely good XRP news this week — a security fix went live on the XRP Ledger, closing a loophole in how permissions are delegated that could, under certain conditions, have let accounts holding a permission to destroy issued tokens also mint them. No exploitation has been publicly confirmed. But a patched ledger does not fix a demand problem, and Schwab's snub is a demand signal: the broker that just bet its brand on three altcoins still does not want the sixth-largest cryptocurrency on its platform. For the full background, see What Is XRP?.
Avalanche's Big Day: The NYSE Connection
AVAX did not just get a Schwab listing on November 9 — it got a Wall Street endorsement on the same day. The New York Stock Exchange said Avalanche will provide the core ledger technology for the clearing firm supporting its planned tokenized-securities venue. That is the kind of institutional plumbing deal that explains why Schwab picked AVAX over flashier candidates: the same chain the NYSE wants to settle tokenized stocks on is now the chain Schwab's clients can buy in two clicks.
It is also why the "established cryptocurrencies" framing matters. Schwab is not chasing memecoin volume. It is assembling the set of tokens that traditional finance is actually building on — Chainlink's oracles feeding prices into tokenized funds, Avalanche settling tokenized securities, Solana hosting high-speed trading apps. Whether that institutional logic translates into price gains is another question: AVAX is still about 94% below its all-time high, and LINK about 80% below its $52.70 peak. Schwab is selling access, not a forecast.
What This Means for the Market
Zoom out and the Schwab expansion lands in a market that is hurting. Bitcoin closed November 9 at $75,248 — down 3.3% on the week and about 40% below its all-time high — after a weekend in which more than $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated. Ether closed at $2,132, down 6.7% on the week. US spot bitcoin ETFs lost $1.28 billion in a single week, and the Crypto Fear & Greed Index sits at 32, firmly in "Fear". Against that backdrop, Schwab adding three altcoins is a vote of confidence from the most conservative corner of American finance: the $13.33 trillion broker is expanding crypto access while prices fall, not while they moon.
That does not mean Schwab's clients will rush in. Schwab has disclosed no volume, revenue or client-count figures for its crypto business, and a listing alone does not create demand — the three coins still have to earn their buyers. But the funnel is now enormous: every eligible Schwab retail client can buy SOL, AVAX and LINK next to their index funds without opening a new account, passing a new KYC check or learning a new app. In a market starved of fresh buyers after the ETF outflows, that distribution is the story. The question is whether Schwab's clients — savers and retirees, not degens — want altcoins at all in a week when bitcoin just printed its lowest close since August.
Should You Buy Crypto on Schwab? A 5-Point Checklist
Use this checklist before you place a trade:
- Check your state first. If you live in New York or Louisiana, Schwab Crypto is not available to you at all — use a licensed exchange instead.
- Do the fee math on your trade size. A $10,000 buy costs $75, and the round trip costs $150. If you trade often or in size, a lower-fee exchange will beat Schwab quickly.
- Decide whether staking income matters to you. Schwab pays no staking yield on SOL or AVAX. If you plan to hold for years, the missing yield can cost more than the trading fee.
- Remember what is not protected. Your crypto at Schwab is not FDIC-insured and not SIPC-protected. Only put in what you can afford to lose, and never treat it like a bank deposit.
- Do not buy the listing, buy the coin. Schwab listing SOL, AVAX and LINK is a distribution event, not a price prediction. SOL is down 7.9% in a week and LINK sits 80% below its peak for a reason — check the investment case, not the headline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which cryptocurrencies can I trade on Schwab Crypto now?
Five: bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), solana (SOL), avalanche (AVAX) and chainlink (LINK). SOL, AVAX and LINK were added on November 9, 2026; BTC and ETH have been available since the service launched.
How much does Schwab charge for crypto trades?
A flat 0.75% of the dollar value of each trade, with a $0.01 minimum fee and no additional spread. Buying $10,000 of SOL costs $75; selling it costs another $75.
Can I stake Solana or Avalanche on Schwab?
No. Schwab Crypto offers no staking. You get price exposure to SOL and AVAX but none of the staking yield those networks pay to stakers.
Is XRP available on Schwab Crypto?
No. XRP was not included in the November 9 expansion, and Schwab has not said whether or when it will add it.
Who cannot use Schwab Crypto?
Residents of New York and Louisiana, clients in US territories, and international clients cannot open Schwab Crypto accounts. Not all customers qualify even in eligible states.
Is my crypto at Schwab FDIC-insured?
No. Schwab states that crypto held through its service is not a bank deposit, is not FDIC-insured, is not SIPC-protected and is not a security — even though custody is provided by its bank subsidiary, Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB.
Conclusion
Schwab's November 9 expansion is the most important mainstream-crypto story of the week precisely because it is boring: no hype, no leverage, no memecoin — just the $13.33 trillion broker adding three infrastructure tokens to the same app that holds America's retirement savings. The 0.75% fee and the missing staking yield mean Schwab is not the cheapest place to buy SOL, AVAX or LINK, and it may never be. But for the millions of Schwab clients who would never open a crypto exchange account, it is now the easiest place — and that ease is exactly what a market down 40% from its highs and starved of new buyers needs most. The snubbed coin is the warning label: XRP, the week's worst top-10 performer with empty ETF flows and a nine-month record Binance exodus, still cannot get past Schwab's gatekeepers. Watch whether Schwab names a sixth asset, and whether its famously cautious clients actually buy the dip — those two answers will tell you more about the next leg of this market than any price chart.
