Israel's largest bank to offer Bitcoin and crypto from 2027

Bank Leumi, Israel’s largest bank, is partnering with Galaxy Digital to become the first Israeli bank to offer crypto trading to its customers. From early 2027, customers of Leumi and the mobile banking app PEPPER will be able to buy, hold and sell Bitcoin, Ether and Solana through the existing Leumi Trade app.

Bitcoin is available at OKX and Bybit.

In brief:

• Bank Leumi will be the first bank in Israel to offer crypto trading to customers.
• Customers can buy, hold and sell Bitcoin, Ether and Solana via the Leumi Trade app.
• The service will use the GalaxyOne Institutional platform and Galaxy’s custody infrastructure.

Trading via a secure section of the app

Crypto trading will take place in a separate, secure section of the Leumi Trade app. Customers of both Bank Leumi and the digital banking arm PEPPER will get access to the service. The launch is planned for early 2027, reports PRNewswire.

For the execution of the trading, Bank Leumi will use GalaxyOne Institutional, Galaxy’s platform specifically designed for banks, asset managers and other financial institutions. In addition, the bank is signing an agreement with Galaxy’s custody arm, formerly known as GK8, for the security and management of customers’ digital assets.

Crypto as part of the banking system

Maya Ravia, head of strategy at Bank Leumi, says the bank is continuously working to expand its financial services. According to her, this step fits into the bank’s broader innovation strategy and gives customers access to crypto trading in a simple, safe and regulated way.

Ravia further states that digital assets are increasingly becoming a permanent part of the global financial system. The bank wants to give customers the opportunity to benefit from this development within a trusted banking environment. At the time of writing, Bitcoin stands at $62.775, a decline of 0.9% in the past 24 hours. Whether the price has any impact on the interest of bank customers in Israel remains to be seen. Earlier we wrote about how Bitcoin barely reacts to positive macroeconomic news.