Bank Leumi, Israel’s largest lender, will become the first bank in the country to let customers buy, hold and sell Bitcoin directly inside its banking app, the bank said in a Friday announcement reported by Bitcoin Magazine. The service is expected to launch in early 2027 through Leumi’s mobile app, Pepper, in partnership with crypto firm Galaxy Digital.
The bank will run the offering on GalaxyOne Institutional, Galaxy’s platform that provides trading and custody services for banks, asset managers and other institutions, according to the Bitcoin Magazine report. Customers will initially be able to trade Bitcoin and will also gain access to other cryptocurrencies, the announcement said.
Maya Ravia, Bank Leumi’s Head of Strategy, framed the move as part of a broader shift in how money moves. “We believe that digital assets are gradually becoming an integral part of the global financial system, and it is our role to enable customers to benefit from this development within a reliable, secure, and regulated banking framework,” Ravia said, as quoted in the Bitcoin Magazine report.
Galaxy Israel CEO Lior Lamesh said the partnership is building a single platform for trading and custody with “institutional-grade security at its core.” “The future of finance will run on open, programmable rails, and we believe the banks that move first will define the era that follows,” Lamesh said, per the Bitcoin Magazine report. Bitcoin Magazine, the outlet that broke the story, distributes its coverage through its own apps on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Leumi first announced plans to offer crypto trading back in 2022 but shelved the initiative. The revived project arrives as crypto use in Israel keeps climbing; the Bitcoin Magazine report cited Chainalysis data showing adoption has grown steadily, with geopolitical headwinds including the wars in Gaza and Iran pushing some Israelis toward digital assets as a “safe-haven.”
For Israeli retail users, the practical takeaway is access to Bitcoin through the same regulated banking framework Leumi described, rather than a standalone exchange — the bank said it wants customers to “benefit from this development within a reliable, secure, and regulated banking framework,” according to the Bitcoin Magazine report. The move also mirrors a wider pattern of traditional banks adding digital-asset services, a trend tracked in coverage such as Abu Dhabi sovereign funds hold $763.7M in Bitcoin ETF and debate over whether Chinese AI now beats US cyber models.
The launch remains scheduled for early 2027, according to the Bitcoin Magazine report, and the exact list of supported cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin has not yet been detailed.
