130 trillion dollars of brokerage expansion to crypto shelves, Solana traders eyeing 109 dollars.

Written by: Boaz Sobrado, Forbes

Translated by: AididiaoJP, Foresight News

Charles Schwab is planning to add Solana, Avalanche, and Chainlink to its crypto trading platform, covering about 39.9 million brokerage accounts. After the news broke, SOL surged about 7%, reaching 109 dollars, before returning to around 106 dollars. For those accustomed to placing orders on Coinbase and Binance, this is just another listing; for American retail customers who keep their stocks, bonds, and cash in one Schwab account, this is the first time they can directly buy SOL within a familiar interface without needing to open a separate crypto exchange account.

What exactly did Schwab announce?

In May, Schwab Crypto initially opened Bitcoin and Ethereum spot trading to some retail customers. On August 27, the company issued another statement: in the coming months, they would add SOL, AVAX, and LINK, increasing the number of tradable cryptocurrencies from 2 to 5. No specific launch dates were given. The company also left an opening—if market, regulatory, operational, or risk conditions change, they may delay, alter the plan, or even withdraw the announced assets.

Trading will occur through the official website, mobile app, etc., with a fee of 0.75% based on the transaction amount, meaning a trade of 1,000 dollars would incur a fee of 7.5 dollars. Schwab claims the fee rate is on the lower end of the industry. Accounts will be listed under Charles Schwab Premier Bank, linked to standard brokerage accounts, but as separate crypto accounts. Execution and fractional custody were previously connected to Paxos. Most states in the U.S. can open accounts, except New York and Louisiana, and overseas and territorial clients cannot either. Not all customers will automatically qualify.

Joe Vietri, head of digital assets, has a very traditional stance: customers want more types of digital asset allocations within their already familiar investment advisory and banking experience. There is no commitment to proprietary purchases, no projected trading volume given, and no named custodial counterpart for the new coins. Brokers provide shelves, not pricing power through their balance sheets.

Why does the market still consider this a big deal?

As of July 31, 2026, Schwab’s customer assets totaled approximately 13.04 trillion dollars, with around 39.9 million active brokerage accounts. This is the scale of custody, not Schwab's own money. 130 trillion will not flood into SOL overnight. However, the channel itself has changed the behavior cost: previously, to buy SOL, one had to register on an exchange, complete KYC, and learn how to withdraw tokens; now they can place orders in the same app where they view their holdings, similar to buying an ETF.

There is a saying in the industry: Schwab is not here to snatch crypto-native users but to prevent existing customers from moving money to Coinbase or Robinhood because they can't buy tokens. Once the money is transferred out, it's hard to bring it back. The 0.75% fee is also more transparent than the spread plus commission combinations of many retail exchanges, but it is still noticeably higher than some competitors—Morgan Stanley previously had quotes of 50 basis points for related channels. The price war has now spread to traditional brokerage shelves.

Attention should also be paid to boundaries. Schwab's spot crypto cannot currently be transferred in and out freely like an on-chain wallet. Buying, holding, and selling does not mean tokens can be withdrawn to one's own Solana address. For those wanting to participate in on-chain staking or DeFi, this channel won't solve the issue; for those who only want to add a bit of SOL next to their stock account, it’s just enough. The advisory-side crypto services have a different timeline, with market rumors suggesting a target around mid-2027, which is not part of the same product line as this retail expansion.

How did the price reach 109 dollars?

Before and after the announcement, SOL initially crossed the psychological threshold of 100 dollars—this is the first time in more than three months. It hit 109 dollars during trading, then retreated to the 106 dollar range. Different sources report the day's increase between approximately 7% to 13%, with trading volumes significantly amplifying, with statistics indicating a 24-hour trading volume more than 60% higher than the previous day. Avalanche and Chainlink followed suit on the same day, although to a lesser extent than SOL.

This wasn't simply following Bitcoin's trend. During the same period, SOL's seven-day increase was significantly higher than BTC's, with the market more willing to see it as SOL's own repricing rather than as part of the broader market beta. Short covering also concentrated above the 100 dollar mark, with the breakout triggering a batch of stop-loss and leveraged short positions, amplifying the upward slope. After reaching 109 dollars, failing to regain that level immediately indicates that there was profit-taking and new supply in the mix.

Traders are currently watching two layers. Near term is the 109 to 110 dollar range: whether it can close above this will determine if there is a short-term attempt to reach 120 dollars. For retracements, the first level to watch is 100 dollars, which is both a psychological round number and a resistance turned support just breached. Further down, the demand zone left from the summer consolidation is still visible on the charts.

Three events happened in the same week

Schwab is just the loudest headline. At least two other forces were at play in the same timeframe.

The spot Solana ETF continues to see net inflows. Statistics indicate that the U.S. spot SOL ETF recorded its largest single-day inflow since 2026, totaling about 60.91 million dollars, with Bitwise's BSOL contributing roughly two-thirds and becoming the first SOL spot product to cross 1 billion dollars in scale. Another statistic reports net inflows over seven days of approximately 105 million dollars, with cumulative inflows exceeding 1 billion dollars over a longer window. The ETF provides a packaged investment option for advisors and institutions; Schwab offers a spot buy button in retail accounts. The two pipelines target different audiences but both increase the entry points for "being able to buy SOL."

On-chain governance also landed around the same day. Validators proposed measures such as increasing deflationary rates and enhancing resource fee burn. The market roughly estimates, based on prices at the time, that roughly 18.9 million SOL could be less issued over the next six years, corresponding to a potential supply reduction in the range of ten billion dollars. If daily burns increase from around 600 to 800 tokens to around 7,500 to 9,000 tokens, the token economy will tighten, but staking yields might also be pressured, presenting a not entirely one-sided benefit for institutional funds relying on yield. Network activity was also relatively strong during the same period, with reports indicating nearly 1.32 billion non-voting transactions in one week, with daily active addresses reaching peak numbers. As usage rises, there will be a foundation for fee burning; if usage declines, the deflation narrative will weaken.

Only when these three events come together can the breakout above 100 dollars be seen as a volume-driven extension rather than a thin candlestick.

What changes and what doesn't?

What changes is the entry point. SOL transitions from "requiring a dedicated crypto account to buy" to "sitting within the same regulated brokerage system as stocks." For American retail customers who have never touched an on-chain wallet, friction decreases significantly. For advisors who have already integrated SOL into their ETF models, Schwab's spot execution simply adds another venue, but it does not automatically mean increased holdings.

What does not change is the structure of the major supply. The reduction vote changes the new issuance over the next few years; how the circulating supply and long-term holders sell remains determined by price. It does not change the macro discount rate either. Bitcoin continues to digest U.S. Treasury yields and ETF turnover, making it very difficult for SOL to emerge from an entirely unrelated bull market. Schwab listing, ETF inflows, and governance-induced deflation explain why SOL could pierce 100 dollars before the broader market, but they do not explain every dollar of trading above 109 dollars.

Before product launch, directly translating 130 trillion dollars into buying power would be mistaking custody scale for intentioned funds. What needs to be verified is the daily trading volume and net purchases post-launch, and whether states like New York, if they catch up with licensing, will see a second wave of account openings. Until then, 109 dollars is just a line that traders are eyeing: if it stands above, the narrative can still be useful for a while; if it falls back below 100 dollars, Schwab will revert to being an unfulfilled news story.