Bitcoin Price Prediction: Charles Schwab to Offer BTC Trading in Early 2026

Wall Street’s appetite for Bitcoin is not letting up. In the past ten days, JPMorgan, Vanguard, Bank of America, and now Charles Schwab have promised, launched, or recommended Bitcoin exposure for clients.

Charles Schwab is the latest asset manager to join the trend, announcing on Wednesday that it will offer Bitcoin and Ethereum trading to clients in early 2026, marking its most meaningful push into digital assets yet.

Additionally, the firm revealed that it’s exploring strategic acquisitions, including potential crypto deals. It’s another signal of the intensifying demand for crypto products among the world’s largest financial institutions. So what does this mean for Bitcoin?

Bitcoin price predictions suggest its higher-timeframe uptrend could extend for months to come. In this article, we’ll explore how far BTC could go, and what this might mean for adjacent cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER).

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Charles Schwab’s Crypto Trading Could Bypass Fees

With $12 trillion in assets under management (AUM), Charles Schwab is the world’s largest brokerage firm and custodian, with a level of liquidity comparable to that of asset managers like BlackRock and Vanguard. But many of Charles Schwab’s offerings, be it ETF or stock trading, are fee-free.

According to ETF expert Eric Balchunas, this could disrupt the current status quo. He says it could divert liquidity away from crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, which charges taker fees of 0.05% to 0.6% depending on monthly volume.

But more than just drawing customers from native crypto exchanges, Charles Schwab’s Bitcoin trading could open the asset to a new suite of traditional investors, similar to how Vanguard’s crypto ETF trading launch reportedly fueled inflows into Bitcoin funds.

BlackRock’s IBIT saw $120 million in inflows on Tuesday, its largest day since 11 November. That being said, ETF momentum was squashed as Ark Invest’s ARKB sold $90 million the same day.

Nonetheless, institutional demand is here – and it’s only getting stronger. This paints an exciting picture for Bitcoin’s future, especially when paired with emerging macroeconomic tailwinds such as an end to quantitative tightening and looming interest rate cuts. So how far can BTC go?

Bitcoin Price Prediction: JPMorgan Eyes $170K in 2026

As liquidity enters the market through new institutional offerings, Bitcoin and the wider crypto space appear excellently positioned for significant growth.

The analyst Don Wedge recently published a new Bitcoin chart, noting that it’s formed a double bottom pattern – which suggests a rebound is on the horizon. Don’s price chart also shows a trendline resistance level between $112,000 and $114,000, which could be the first target.

Considering that Bitcoin added around $9,000 in two days this week, reclaiming $112,000 by the end of December certainly seems reasonable.

Looking further ahead, JPMorgan issued a $170,000 Bitcoin price forecast in November, contending that BTC is undervalued relative to gold – and the bank’s experts therefore see “significant upside in the next 6-12 months.”

Indeed, by that point, JPMorgan’s own Bitcoin-centered derivatives product may have launched, as will have Charles Schwab’s Bitcoin trading, and Vanguard’s clients will be firmly positioned by then, too. In other words, all the big players will be in – and so a $170,000 Bitcoin could certainly be on the cards.

The forecast was published in early November, suggesting it may have been slightly premature. Nonetheless, macroeconomic and institutional catalysts are now firmly aligned, Bitcoin has regained the pivotal $90,000 support level, and so $170,000 looks achievable.

Bitcoin’s reaction around the $90,000 and $112,000 levels will provide deeper insight into whether its uptrend could extend toward its all-time high and eventually toward JPMorgan’s target.

Meanwhile, analyst Cas Abbe noted that Ethereum has outperformed BTC recently, suggesting that this could allow “a lot of good altcoins” to rally in the weeks ahead. One project analysts believe could outperform is Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER), a new Bitcoin Layer 2 available to buy via a presale.

Top Trader Backs Bitcoin Hyper for 100x as Presale Nears $30M

Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER) aims to be the world’s fastest smart contract Bitcoin Layer 2 blockchain, combining Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) tooling and ZK-rollups to deliver Solana-grade speed and Bitcoin-grade security.

The SVM means Bitcoin Hyper is programmable and can support smart contracts, opening up a new world of opportunities for Bitcoin holders. It means they could use BTC in DeFi, trading, and a myriad of other on-chain use cases. Some examples that Bitcoin Hyper’s website mentions include meme coins and payments, two focal points for the retail market.

The project is currently undergoing a presale where it has raised $28.9 million so far, a huge amount that clearly reflects deep investor conviction. Therefore, analysts have begun to take notice, such as Borch Crypto, who speculated that HYPER has 100x potential.

Even if Bitcoin Hyper captures a fraction of those gains, it’s still likely to massively outperform large-cap projects such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP in the coming months. The HYPER presale includes staking, with APYs of up to 40% – and HYPER is still priced at a discounted rate ($0.013375), giving early buyers an advantage ahead of exchange listings.

But with a use case that provides Bitcoin with real value, many traders are thinking well beyond its immediate potential and looking at Bitcoin Hyper as a true long-term opportunity.

Cryptos like this don’t come around often – but it’s even more rare for them to launch when the market’s fundamentals are as strong as they are now. That’s why investors are pouring in.