Israel Discount Bank Adds Bitcoin and Ether Trading to Mobile App

Israel Discount Bank will let customers buy, hold and sell Bitcoin and Ether directly through its mobile app starting Nov. 26, according to a Nov. 11 Globes report. The bank described the offering as an initial step toward building its digital currency infrastructure.

Access will be limited to private customers aged 18 and older whose accounts are already enabled for securities trading, The Jerusalem Post reported. Eligible customers must accept the bank's terms and enrollment agreement.

What does the in-app service include?

The launch folds crypto trading into the same banking environment customers already use for stocks and bonds. Customers will not need to open an external exchange account or manage a separate wallet.

• Two assets at launch: Bitcoin and Ether.
• Fireblocks will provide the infrastructure for assets held in bank-controlled wallets.
• Sale proceeds will be credited directly into the customer's bank account.
• Account management fees will be waived for the first six months.

Trading commissions remain undisclosed. Globes reported that Discount called the rates low but did not publish figures in its announcement.

Group CEO Avi Levi said customers would be able to trade from their accounts "without the need for complex dedicated digital wallets." Elad Fisher, head of Discount's Financial Markets Division, led the initiative. The bank warned customers that crypto trading carries exceptional risk, including high volatility and the possibility of losing the entire investment.

How does the tax treatment work?

The service will let crypto capital gains and losses offset other investments in the customer's portfolio when tax is deducted at source. Globes contrasted this with external platforms, where investors handle tax obligations independently.

That difference matters in the Israeli market. Israeli investors have repeatedly struggled to deposit crypto proceeds into commercial bank accounts, because banks require evidence of the source of funds under anti-money laundering rules.

The Israel Tax Authority maintains an official procedure for individuals who want to pay tax on crypto profits after a commercial bank has refused the relevant funds, including through refusal to open an account. Applicants must show lawful funds used for the original purchase, no alternative funding source for the tax payment, a 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; companies cannot use it.

Who else is moving in this market?

Discount's schedule would put it ahead of Bank Leumi, which announced a Galaxy trading partnership on Aug. 14 covering Bitcoin, Ether and Solana through Leumi Trade. That service is expected in early 2027 for Leumi and PEPPER customers, with GalaxyOne Institutional providing trading and Galaxy's Custody Infrastructure platform, formerly GK8, handling custody.

Leumi previously announced a Pepper Invest arrangement with Paxos in March 2022 that never reached a full-scale launch, Globes noted.

Local exchange Bits of Gold operates under financial services license 56716 from Israel's Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority, with a separate Tax Authority agreement covering crypto tax calculations and payments. It also received approval for its BILS shekel stablecoin after a two-year Solana pilot, with reserves held in designated, separate accounts in Israel.

Beyond Israel, Deutsche Bank launched crypto custody on Nov. 11 for institutional and corporate customers in Europe, covering Bitcoin, Ether, USDC, EURC and EURAU, with the bank managing private keys and a planned expansion into Asian financial centers during 2027.

If Discount meets its Nov. 26 date, it will become the first major Israeli bank to deliver retail crypto trading inside a standard banking app.