Discount Bank to Offer Bitcoin and Ether Trading in Its App From November 26

Israel Discount Bank announced on Wednesday that from November 26 its private customers will be able to buy, hold and sell bitcoin and ether directly in the bank's app. The coins will sit in the customer's bank account next to shares and bonds, with no need for an account at an outside crypto exchange or a self-managed digital wallet, and money from a sale will go straight into the account. Discount Group CEO Avi Levi said that "for the first time in the banking system, Discount Bank will enable trading in digital currencies directly from the bank account, simply and securely, without the need for complex dedicated digital wallets." He described the service as a first step toward building advanced technology infrastructure for digital currencies and developing the bank's capabilities in the field. The coins will be held in the bank's wallets on infrastructure from the fintech company Fireblocks, and customers will be able to offset crypto capital gains and losses against the rest of their portfolio for tax withheld at source. The bank is offering six months without account management fees and trading fees it calls low, without stating the rates. The service is open to private customers aged 18 and over whose accounts are linked to securities trading, subject to the bank's terms. The bank said it set the age limit because of the risks, warning that crypto trading carries exceptional risk, high volatility and the possibility of losing the entire investment. Elad Fisher, head of the bank's financial markets division, led the project. Israeli crypto investors have long struggled to move proceeds into bank accounts because of banks' source-of-funds and anti-money-laundering checks. Bank Leumi announced bitcoin and ether trading through Pepper Invest with Paxos in March 2022, but the plan never reached a broad launch; in August 2026 Leumi announced a partnership with Galaxy Digital for bitcoin, ether and solana trading, expected to start in early 2027.