Israel Discount Bank has announced plans to let customers buy, hold, and sell Bitcoin and Ether through its mobile app from Nov. 26, with tax handling built into their investment accounts.
Summary
- Two cryptocurrencies will be available to eligible adult customers through Discount’s existing banking app.
- Six months of account management fees will be waived, but trading rates remain undisclosed.
- Fireblocks will provide infrastructure for assets held in bank wallets, with sale proceeds credited directly.
- Discount’s scheduled launch would precede Bank Leumi’s planned crypto trading service in early 2027.
Globes reported on Nov. 11 that the service will bring crypto purchases and sales into the same banking environment customers use for stocks and bonds. Customers will not need to open an external exchange account or manage a separate digital wallet.
Discount Bank crypto trading will start with adult customers
Access will be limited to private customers aged 18 or older whose accounts are enabled for securities trading, subject to the bank’s terms and enrollment agreement, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Customers’ digital assets will sit in bank wallets supported by Fireblocks infrastructure. Money received from selling the assets will go directly into the customer’s bank account.
Elad Fisher, head of Discount’s Financial Markets Division, led the initiative. Group CEO Avi Levi described the offering as an initial step toward developing the bank’s digital currency infrastructure and capabilities.
Levi said customers would be able to trade from their accounts “without the need for complex dedicated digital wallets,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
The bank warned that cryptocurrency trading carries exceptional risk, including high volatility and the possibility of losing the entire investment.
Trading fees remain undisclosed despite six-month waiver
Discount will waive account management fees for six months. Globes reported that the bank described trading commissions as low but did not publish the rates in its announcement.
The tax service will allow crypto capital gains and losses to be offset against other investments in the customer’s portfolio when tax is deducted at source. Globes contrasted this with external platforms, where investors must handle their tax obligations independently.
Israeli investors have faced difficulties depositing proceeds from crypto activity into commercial bank accounts, with banks requiring evidence of the source of funds to meet anti-money laundering rules, the publication reported.
An official tax-payment procedure documents the problem. The Israel Tax Authority provides a route for individuals seeking to pay tax on crypto profits after an Israeli commercial bank has refused the relevant funds, including through refusal to open an account.
Eligibility requires lawful funds used for the original purchase and no alternative funding source for the tax payment. Companies cannot use the service.
Applicants must provide their taxable-income calculation, evidence of the original funds, a history of the digital assets during ownership, and confirmation of the bank’s refusal. The procedure was developed with the Bank of Israel and the Money Laundering Authority to allow tax funds into the authority’s account at the central bank.
Leumi’s Galaxy service is scheduled for early 2027
As crypto.news previously reported, Bank Leumi announced a Galaxy trading partnership on Aug. 14, covering Bitcoin, Ether and Solana through Leumi Trade.
Its service is expected in early 2027 for Leumi and PEPPER customers. GalaxyOne Institutional will provide trading services, while Galaxy’s Custody Infrastructure platform, formerly GK8, will support custody.
Discount would therefore launch first if it meets its announced schedule, Globes reported. The publication noted that Leumi had announced an earlier Pepper Invest arrangement with Paxos in March 2022 that did not reach a full-scale launch.
Licensed exchanges and overseas banks offer other crypto services
Local provider Bits of Gold says it operates under financial services license 56716 issued by Israel’s Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority. Its regulatory page describes a separate agreement with the Tax Authority covering crypto tax calculations and payments.
The company received approval for its BILS shekel stablecoin after a two-year Solana pilot. The reserve arrangements require designated, separate accounts in Israel.
Outside Israel, Deutsche Bank launched crypto custody on Nov. 11 for paying institutional and corporate customers in Europe. Its initial offering covers Bitcoin, Ether, USDC, EURC and EURAU, with the bank managing private keys. Retail customers are excluded from that initial service, and the bank plans expansion into Asian financial centers during 2027.
