Israel’s largest bank taps Galaxy to offer bitcoin, ether and solana trading

Bank Leumi, Israel’s largest bank, plans to allow customers to trade bitcoin, ether and solana through its investment app beginning in early 2027, marking the second time it's announced efforts to bring crypto trading to customers.

Customers of Leumi and PEPPER, its mobile digital banking arm, will be able to use the bank's mobile digital banking arm to trade BTC, ETH, SOL and other "selected" cryptocurrencies, according to a statement.

The bank is partnering with Mike Novogratz-led Galaxy Digital (GLXY), which will provide the institutional trading and custody infrastructure.

"This initiative represents a significant pillar of the bank's innovation strategy and enables us to provide customers with simple, secure, and regulated access to trading digital assets through one of the world's leading technological infrastructures," Bank Leumi's Head of Strategy Maya Ravia said. "We believe that digital assets are gradually becoming an integral part of the global financial system."

In 2022, Bank Leumi said it had partnered with Paxos to offer customers cryptocurrency trading, but it appears the launch never moved forward.

Israel received an estimated $22 billion in onchain crypto value during the 12 months ending June 2025, according to Chainalysis.

Across the Middle East and North Africa, onchain crypto activity increased 33% from the previous 12-month period to more than $500 billion, although growth trailed that recorded in other developing regions, including Asia-Pacific and Latin America.