Schwab Crypto
How to Buy Bitcoin on Schwab Crypto
By Matt Fisher
Lead author, TheWalletDesk
- Last updated
- First published
- Details verified
- Reading time
- 5 min read
Key takeaways
- You need an approved, funded Schwab Crypto account. Cash comes from the linked brokerage account (Transfer & Pay, then Transfer Funds).
- Search BTC/USD on Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile, or thinkorswim. Schwab switches the order ticket to your crypto account automatically.
- Enter the order in dollars or coins, from $1. Market, limit, stop, and stop limit orders are available everywhere; thinkorswim adds trailing and advanced orders.
- Crypto limit orders are good until canceled (up to 180 days), and market orders are immediate or cancel.
- Review the estimated fee (0.75%, $0.01 minimum) before you place the order, then check the order status to confirm the fill.
Schwab Crypto at a glance
- Type
- Brokerage crypto account held at a bank (custodial)
- US availability
- All states except New York and Louisiana; not available in U.S. territories
- Supported networks
- Bitcoin (BTC) on the Bitcoin network and ether (ETH) on the Ethereum network
- Fees
- 0.75% of each buy or sell (minimum $0.01) with no spread markup. No account fee. Schwab charges nothing to send or receive crypto; blockchain network fees apply.
Last verified
On this page
To buy bitcoin on Schwab, you need a funded Schwab Crypto account. Then you search BTC/USD, choose Buy, enter a dollar amount or number of coins, pick an order type, and review the estimated 0.75% fee before you place the order. You can do it on Schwab.com, the Schwab Mobile app, or thinkorswim, nearly 24/7, starting at $1.
These steps follow Schwab’s own walkthrough and FAQ as of October 22, 2026.
Before you buy
- Open a Schwab Crypto account. It links to an individual or joint Schwab brokerage account, and approval can take up to two business days. See how to open a Schwab Crypto account.
- Move cash in. Cash can only come from the linked brokerage account. On Schwab.com go to Transfer & Pay, then Transfer Funds. In Schwab Mobile go to More, then Transfer Funds. Transfers during normal business hours are available immediately.
- Know the cost. Each buy costs 0.75% of the trade value, minimum $0.01, and selling later costs the same. See Schwab Crypto fees.
How to buy bitcoin on Schwab.com
- Log in to Schwab.com and open the trade ticket.
- Enter the symbol BTC/USD. Schwab switches the ticket to your crypto account automatically, with the strategy set to Crypto.
- Leave the action set to Buy.
- Use the Coins / Dollars toggle to choose how to size the order: a number of coins, or a dollar amount. If you enter dollars, the estimated quantity updates as you type.
- Choose the order type: Market, Limit, Stop, or Stop limit. For a limit order, enter your price.
- Select Review Order. Check the amount, the estimated quantity, and the estimated fee.
- Select Place Order.
- Go to your order status to confirm the order filled.
Schwab’s beginner video makes the point that the crypto ticket “is very similar to a stock trade,” so if you’ve bought shares on Schwab.com before, it will look familiar.
On Schwab Mobile and thinkorswim
You can also buy on the Schwab Mobile app and on thinkorswim desktop, web, and mobile. Schwab publishes step-by-step videos for each one on its Trade Crypto page. The order works the same way: choose BTC/USD, buy in coins or dollars, choose the order type, and review the fee before you submit.
thinkorswim adds order types the other platforms don’t have: “trailing stop,” “trailing stop limit,” and “other advanced order types.”
Choosing an order type
| Order type | What it does | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Market | Buys right away at the best available price | Immediate or cancel: any unfilled part is canceled |
| Limit | Buys only at your price or better | Good until canceled, for up to 180 days |
| Stop | Becomes a market order once the price reaches your stop price | Available on all platforms |
| Stop limit | Becomes a limit order once the price reaches your stop price | Available on all platforms |
| Trailing stop, trailing stop limit | Stop price follows the market by an amount you set | thinkorswim only |
From Schwab’s walkthrough: “All limit orders will be good till canceled, and all market orders will be immediate or cancel.” A limit order “will lock me in to a specific price,” while a market order is sent “for the best available current price, which could be higher or lower than the current quote.”
Order sizes and limits
- Minimum: $1 per order. You can buy a fraction of a bitcoin.
- Maximum: $2 million per order. “Any orders over $1 million must be limit orders.”
- Position limit: $10 million of cost basis per coin. Price gains alone don’t stop you from buying more.
- No margin: “Schwab Crypto accounts are not eligible for margin.”
- Cash cushion on coin market buys: if you buy a set number of coins with a market order, Schwab reserves “a small amount of additional cash” to cover price movement during the trade.
How the fee shows up on a buy
Schwab shows the estimated fee on the review screen before you place the order. How it’s applied depends on how you enter the order:
- Dollar buy: “Fees are included in the amount you enter.” Enter $1,000, and about $7.50 of it pays the fee.
- Coin buy: “Fees are added to the amount you enter.” You pay the value of the coins plus 0.75%.
The final fee is always 0.75% of the executed value, so it can differ slightly from the estimate if the price moves.
When you can buy
Schwab says you can trade “nearly 24/7 (24 hours per day, 7 days per week, except during maintenance windows).” Schwab reserves a monthly maintenance window of up to two hours, “usually on Saturday evenings,” when you may not be able to place orders and existing orders may not fill. Schwab notifies you ahead of time by email and inside its platforms.
After you buy
- Settlement: crypto trades “typically settle immediately.”
- Where it shows: your bitcoin appears in the positions of your Schwab Crypto account. Schwab’s walkthrough: “When you buy cryptocurrency, you own it.”
- Fee record: the fee appears in your transaction history and on your monthly statement.
- Canceling: you “can attempt to cancel an order if it has not yet been executed,” including the unfilled part of a partly filled order.
- Moving it out: if Schwab has enabled crypto transfers on your account, you can send bitcoin to a wallet. See how to withdraw crypto from Schwab.
Schwab’s beginner video also discusses dollar-cost averaging, investing a fixed amount at regular intervals, as one way some investors build a position. Whether to buy bitcoin at all, and how much, is your decision. Crypto prices can fall sharply.
If your order doesn’t go through
- Not enough cash: move cash from the linked brokerage account into the crypto account first. For coin market buys, leave a little extra for the cushion.
- Order rejected over $1 million: use a limit order.
- Can’t place orders: check whether a maintenance window is running, or whether your new account is still pending its upgrade (up to two business days).
- Crypto account missing from the ticket: see Schwab Crypto not showing in your account.
Related Schwab Crypto guides
Frequently asked questions
How do I buy bitcoin on Schwab?
Open a Schwab Crypto account and move cash into it from the linked brokerage account. Then search BTC/USD on Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile, or thinkorswim, choose Buy, enter a dollar amount or coin quantity, pick the order type, review the estimated fee, and place the order.
What is the minimum amount of bitcoin I can buy on Schwab?
The minimum order is $1, and you can buy a fraction of a bitcoin. The maximum is $2 million per order, and orders over $1 million must be limit orders.
What does it cost to buy bitcoin on Schwab?
0.75% of the trade value, with a $0.01 minimum. A $1,000 purchase costs $7.50. For dollar orders the fee comes out of the amount you enter; for coin orders it's added on top.
Can I buy bitcoin on Schwab with a limit order?
Yes. Schwab Crypto supports market, limit, stop, and stop limit orders on every platform. Crypto limit orders are good until canceled, for up to 180 days; market orders are immediate or cancel.
Can I buy bitcoin on Schwab at night or on weekends?
Yes. Schwab says you can trade supported crypto nearly 24/7, except during a monthly maintenance window of up to two hours, usually on a Saturday evening.
Can I buy bitcoin on margin at Schwab?
No. Schwab Crypto accounts aren't eligible for margin, and crypto doesn't count as collateral for a margin account.
Where do I see the bitcoin I bought?
In your Schwab Crypto account's positions on Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile, or thinkorswim. Trades typically settle immediately, and the trade and fee also appear in your transaction history and monthly statement.
Sources and references
- Trade Crypto (including the 'How to Buy Cryptocurrency for Beginners' video transcript) (opens in a new tab) · Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB · Official documentation · accessed October 22, 2026
- Schwab Crypto FAQs (opens in a new tab) · Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB · Official documentation · accessed October 22, 2026
- How to Buy and Sell Crypto on Schwab.com (opens in a new tab) · Charles Schwab · Official documentation · accessed October 22, 2026
- Charles Schwab Premier Bank Cryptocurrency Account Pricing Guide (October 2026) (opens in a new tab) · Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB · Official documentation · accessed October 22, 2026
- Cryptocurrency (Schwab Crypto) (opens in a new tab) · Charles Schwab · Official documentation · accessed October 22, 2026
How we choose sources: fact-checking policy. Spotted an error? Report a correction.
About the author
Written by
Lead author, TheWalletDesk
Matt Fisher is the lead author at TheWalletDesk, writing plain-English guides to US crypto exchanges: withdrawals, deposits, account restrictions, and verification.
How we work: editorial policy · how we research