Brokerage giant Charles Schwab dismisses crypto, saying it is ‘purely speculative’

Charles Schwab, the biggest investment brokerage firm in the U.S. with $3.2 trillion in assets under management, has dismissed cryptocurrencies - at least for now.

The firm is not looking to offer direct trading services of cryptocurrencies “at this time," according to Schwab’s managing director for corporate communications, Rob Farmer, as reported by RIAbiz on Saturday.

“Investors should view these currencies as a purely speculative instrument,” Farmer added.

Schwab, however, could get into the crypto game one day, maybe via an acquisition deal, according to market experts. "Schwab will be forced to move into the space at some point, although most likely in a small way, custody of client assets or a stake in an exchange," said Will Trout, senior analyst at research and adivsory firm Celent.

Lex Sokolin, global co-head for financial technology at ConsenSys, said: "Traditional companies have the long-term advantage right now, because they can acquire for cheap."

Schwab rival Fidelity, on the other hand, already provides bitcoin trading and custody services. It is also preparing to enable margin purchases and shorting, according to the RIAbiz report, as well as has built an Ethereum wallet, which will support ERC-20 based tokens.