Israel Discount Bank Launches In-App Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading

Israel Discount Bank will switch on in-app Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for customers on November 26, becoming the first Israeli bank to offer digital asset dealing directly through its own app. The service runs on custody infrastructure supplied by Fireblocks, which holds the keys on the bank's behalf, meaning customers do not need external crypto wallets or a separate exchange login.

The launch menu is deliberately narrow. Only Bitcoin and Ethereum are supported at the start, keeping the offering to the two largest digital assets by market presence and name recognition. Eligibility is defined too: private customers aged 18 and older who hold securities-enabled accounts can use the service.

What does the tax treatment change?

The bank's tax feature may matter more than the trading itself. Discount Bank will let clients offset capital gains and losses from their digital asset trades against other investments in their portfolio. Those adjustments are handled through deduction at source — a mechanism that folds crypto tax obligations into the bank's existing reporting flow rather than leaving customers to reconcile positions themselves.

That stands in contrast to unregulated offshore platforms, where Israeli retail traders have historically handled their own tax accounting. The research findings around the launch frame Discount Bank's move as a response to rising demand and an explicit bid to challenge unregulated venues.

What does it cost?

The pricing structure is simple and, at first glance, promotional:

• Trading commission: 2% per trade, as reported
• Account management fee: waived for the first six months after launch

The 2% commission sits well above what large international exchanges charge on retail spot volumes, and it may matter more as trading activity grows. Once the six-month fee waiver expires, customers will face the full cost structure for the first time — a natural checkpoint for whether bank-based crypto trading retains its appeal on economics rather than convenience alone.

Who is Fireblocks and why does it hold the keys?

Fireblocks supplies the digital asset infrastructure and wallet custody under the deal. Because Fireblocks holds the keys on the bank's behalf, customers using the service do not control their own private keys — the standard trade-off when a regulated institution, rather than the customer, acts as custodian.

For Fireblocks, the arrangement is another example of the custody firm operating as the quiet infrastructure layer behind traditional finance's crypto ambitions. Banks generally do not want to build key management from scratch. Outsourcing it to a specialist lets them move faster and keeps cryptographic risk off their own balance sheets.

Is this a race?

Discount Bank is not alone in eyeing this market — it is simply first through the door. Bank Leumi is expected to launch a comparable service in early 2027 through its Pepper app, according to the reported timeline. That gives Discount Bank a head start measured in weeks to months, not years, and a window in which it can onboard Israeli crypto-curious customers before its closest domestic rival goes live.

The competitive logic cuts both ways. A licensed bank offering custody, tax handling and a familiar app removes most of the friction that pushed Israeli retail flow toward unregulated platforms. But the two-coin menu and the 2% commission mean sophisticated traders may still find better execution elsewhere.

The near-term milestone to watch is six months after launch, when the fee waiver lapses and the first real test of pricing tolerance arrives — well before Bank Leumi's Pepper rollout forces a direct comparison in early 2027.