Bank Leumi, Israel’s largest bank, has agreed to a partnership with Galaxy Digital that will let its customers trade Bitcoin, Ether and Solana directly through the bank’s existing investment app, according to an announcement from Galaxy.
Under the deal, customers of Leumi and its mobile banking arm, Pepper, will be able to buy, hold and sell the three assets through a dedicated section of the Leumi Trade capital-markets application. The service is targeted for launch in early 2027, and would make Leumi the first bank in Israel to offer digital-asset trading directly to retail customers rather than requiring them to open a separate account with a crypto exchange.
Galaxy will supply the technical backbone. Trading will run through GalaxyOne Institutional, the firm’s platform built for banks and asset managers, while custody will be handled by Galaxy’s Custody Infrastructure platform — the business formerly known as GK8. Galaxy reported roughly $9 billion in assets on its platform as of March 31, 2026.
Neither company has yet disclosed pricing, minimum investment thresholds, or exactly which customers will be eligible at launch, leaving open whether the offering will target mainly retail users or extend to higher-value investors as well. Leumi has said it plans to eventually support other digital assets beyond the initial three, though a fuller list hasn’t been released.
Maya Ravia, Bank Leumi’s head of strategy, framed the move as a recognition that digital assets are becoming a standard part of the financial system rather than something that needs to sit outside it. Galaxy Israel CEO Lior Lamesh struck a similar note, saying the banks that move first on open, programmable financial infrastructure will define the next era of the industry.
The timing is notable given the underlying demand: Chainalysis data cited in coverage of the deal estimated Israel received about $22 billion in onchain crypto value in the twelve months through June 2025, with more than a quarter of Israelis estimated to have held or used digital assets. Any final rollout will still need sign-off from the Bank of Israel, which published a draft update on virtual-asset payment services in mid-July 2026. Rival lenders including Bank Hapoalim, Mizrahi-Tefahot and Bank Discount have not announced comparable offerings, meaning Leumi’s move — if it holds to its 2027 timeline — could put pressure on the rest of Israel’s banking sector to follow.
