Leumi Bank to offer Bitcoin trading for 2.5M clients in 2027

Israel’s largest commercial bank is finally ready to put crypto on the same screen as your savings account. Bank Leumi has announced a partnership with Galaxy Digital and its custody subsidiary GK8 to offer trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana directly through its Leumi Trade platform and Pepper mobile app, with a planned rollout in early 2027.

The bank’s roughly 2.5 million retail clients would be able to buy, hold, and sell digital assets alongside stocks and bonds, all in one place. Leumi will handle custody through GK8’s infrastructure and take responsibility for tax compliance on behalf of customers.

The second act

This is not Leumi’s first attempt at getting into crypto. In 2022, the bank tried to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading through a partnership with Paxos, only to shelve the whole project when the Bank of Israel declined to grant regulatory approval.

What’s changed since then is the regulatory environment. Israel has made meaningful progress on its framework for virtual asset service providers, creating a clearer path for banks that want to offer digital asset services. That updated landscape is what makes this 2026 announcement feel more durable than its predecessor, though final sign-off from the Bank of Israel is still pending.

Galaxy Digital’s announcement of the partnership came in mid-August 2026. The involvement of GK8, a custody-focused subsidiary, addresses one of the thorniest problems banks face when integrating crypto: keeping clients’ assets safe without taking on operational risk the bank can’t manage.

Why 2.5 million clients is a meaningful number

Bank Leumi is not a niche fintech running a pilot for early adopters. It is the largest commercial bank in Israel, with a retail customer base that spans essentially every demographic. Dropping a crypto trading feature into an app that 2.5 million people already use for mortgages, payroll, and bill payments is a very different distribution strategy than launching a standalone exchange.

The specific mechanics of the service, including fees, withdrawal options, and the granular details of how custody works in practice, have not been publicly disclosed yet. The structural architecture is clear: Leumi owns the client relationship, GK8 owns the security infrastructure, and Galaxy Digital provides the broader digital asset expertise tying it together.

What this means for the Israeli market and beyond

More than 25% of Israel’s population has engaged with cryptocurrencies, according to available reports. A green light from the Bank of Israel for Leumi’s new service would carry symbolic weight that goes beyond the bank itself, given that Galaxy Digital oversees approximately $9 billion in client assets and holds the necessary financial licenses.

Israel’s regulatory environment has also seen relaxed deposit requirements for funds originating from digital assets, showcasing a more accommodating environment for banks to integrate crypto services. The Leumi model, combining an established custody partner with an existing retail app, offers a blueprint that competitors could replicate without building from zero.

There is still a meaningful caveat sitting over all of this: regulatory approval. Leumi’s 2022 effort is a reminder that bank announcements and bank launches are not the same thing. The Bank of Israel will need to formally bless the arrangement before a single client can execute a trade.

What to watch between now and early 2027: the Bank of Israel’s formal response, the fee structure Leumi chooses to publish, and whether any competing Israeli banks announce similar partnerships in the months that follow.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.