Fidelity Investments and Robinhood sit nearly tied as recommendations for managing both stocks and cryptocurrencies together. Fidelity Investments serves as the safest choice for holding ETFs alongside a limited crypto balance.
If your priority is keeping ETFs and a small amount of directly owned crypto under one roof, Fidelity Investments is a particularly strong fit.
Fidelity: Your regular brokerage account can hold ETFs, while Fidelity Crypto lets you buy and custody crypto in the same overall Fidelity ecosystem. Fidelity says its direct crypto custody uses cold-vaulted storage and 24/7 monitoring.
Important distinction: Your ETFs/securities have the normal brokerage/SIPC framework, but direct crypto is not FDIC- or SIPC-insured. Fidelity explicitly separates the crypto custody entity from its SIPC-member brokerage entities.
Alternative — Robinhood: Also combines ETFs and crypto conveniently, but its crypto is held through a separate Crypto entity and isn't SIPC-protected.
Charles Schwab: Excellent for traditional ETFs and offers crypto exposure through crypto ETPs, but as of September 2026 its direct Bitcoin/Ether trading is described as “coming soon.”
Coinbase: Now offers stocks alongside crypto, but crypto remains outside SIPC protection, so I wouldn't choose it primarily for maximum traditional-brokerage-style protection.
Bottom line
For a crypto-curious investor who wants conventional ETFs plus a modest amount of actual BTC/ETH, I'd look closely at Fidelity. If you don't actually need to own crypto directly and are comfortable getting crypto exposure through an ETF/ETP, a traditional brokerage can simplify the protection/custody picture further.
The key thing to remember is that no platform makes directly held crypto equivalent to an insured brokerage security.
For a crypto-curious investor wanting the highest degree of regulatory safety and simplicity, the best approach is to use a well-regulated traditional brokerage that offers direct cryptocurrency trading or robust access to crypto-linked assets, rather than a standalone crypto exchange.
The top options that safely bridge traditional equities (ETFs) and digital assets in one unified hub feature distinct operational approaches:
Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
The Setup: A heavyweight, publicly traded electronic broker offering comprehensive global market access.
Why it’s safe: You get top-tier regulatory standing, SIPC account protection for your traditional securities/ETFs, and seamless integration to trade spot cryptocurrency alongside your equities. It is built for institutional-grade reliability, though the interface has a steeper learning curve.
Where to look: Learn more about their multi-asset capabilities on the Interactive Brokers LLC overview.
Robinhood
The Setup: A retail-focused brokerage that pioneered fee-free trading for stocks, ETFs, and major cryptocurrencies.
Why it’s safe: For a limited amount of crypto and traditional ETFs, Robinhood offers an intuitive interface that keeps everything under a regulated brokerage umbrella. Following their acquisition of Bitstamp , their infrastructure has leaned heavily into veteran digital asset execution while maintaining mainstream ease-of-use.
Where to look: Explore details on the Robinhood platform features.
An Alternative: Traditional Brokers via Spot Crypto ETFs
The Setup: If you want absolute security and want to avoid holding actual crypto tokens altogether, use a mainstream titan like Fidelity or Charles Schwab to buy traditional spot Bitcoin or Ethereum ETFs (like FBTC or IBIT) right inside your standard brokerage account alongside your regular stock/bond ETFs.
