Bank Leumi is preparing to put bitcoin, ether and solana inside its banking platforms, an Israeli first if regulators finally sign off on the service.
Key Takeaways
Bank Leumi and Galaxy Digital target an early 2027 crypto trading launch.Israel’s 2026 regulatory changes may make bank-based crypto access more viable.The Bank of Israel must approve Leumi’s bitcoin, ethereum and solana service.Leumi and its mobile banking arm, PEPPER, would place the service in a sealed-off section of the Leumi Trade investment app. Customers could buy, hold, and sell selected crypto assets besides familiar products, including stocks and bonds.
That setup strips away the usual crypto obstacle course. Customers would not need accounts at standalone exchanges or personal wallets, which hold the credentials needed to control digital assets.
A Bank-Controlled Path Into CryptoGalaxy will supply the trading and custody machinery behind the proposed service. Custody is the unglamorous but critical business of protecting assets and the private keys that move them.
That distinction is the whole point: customers would face their bank, not another crypto intermediary. Leumi also expects to handle tax reporting under Israeli Tax Authority rules, although fees, trading limits, and the complete list of eligible assets remain undisclosed.
A Second Attempt Under New RulesThe backdrop has shifted. In mid-2026, Israel’s banking supervisors advanced draft rules that would treat some transfers from licensed virtual asset service providers as lower risk, instead of automatically flagging larger transfers for heightened scrutiny.
Those changes could make banks less afraid of crypto on-ramps and off-ramps, the pipes that move money between the banking system and digital asset markets.
What looked impossible four years ago is now being tested as a regulated bank product, with risk controls and tax reporting replacing the freewheeling exchange model that kept customers and compliance officers on the sidelines.
Security and Competition Take Center StageThe platform also uses multi-party controls, so transactions can require more than one approval and can be boxed in by preset rules. For a bank, those controls may satisfy compliance and security demands that exceed the standards of a typical retail crypto platform.
The proposed service could force the hand of other major Israeli banks, including Bank Hapoalim, Mizrahi-Tefahot, and Bank Discount, none of which had publicly announced comparable retail trading offerings by mid-August.
