Bank Leumi Partners With Galaxy Digital to Launch Cryptocurrency Trading in Israel
Israel's largest bank becomes first to offer Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana trading directly to customers starting early 2027
Bringing Digital Assets to Israeli Banking
Israel’s largest financial institution has taken a major step into the cryptocurrency space by partnering with Galaxy Digital to offer digital asset trading services to its customer base. Bank Leumi customers will gain the ability to buy, hold, and sell Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana through their banking accounts starting in early 2027. The cryptocurrency trading capability will be accessible through both Bank Leumi’s main platform and Pepper, its mobile banking subsidiary, with dedicated trading functionality integrated into the Leumi Trade app.
A First for Israeli Banking and Its Implications
This partnership is historic for Israel’s financial sector: Bank Leumi will become the first Israeli bank to offer cryptocurrency trading services to its customers. Given Bank Leumi’s massive customer base across retail and business divisions, the potential reach of this initiative is substantial. The technical infrastructure supporting the platform comes from Galaxy Digital’s institutional offerings. Bank Leumi will utilize GalaxyOne Institutional to manage trading operations and related services, while Galaxy’s custody infrastructure platform—previously branded as GK8—will provide the security and management layer for the bank’s cryptocurrency holdings and customer assets.
Galaxy Digital’s Expanding Role in Institutional Crypto
Galaxy Digital, founded and led by Mike Novogratz, has emerged as a critical bridge between traditional financial institutions and the cryptocurrency ecosystem. This partnership with Bank Leumi showcases Galaxy’s growing influence in facilitating mainstream financial system integration with digital assets. The timing of the announcement reflects Galaxy’s business momentum despite recent market challenges. In its latest quarterly earnings, Galaxy reported an $85 million net loss, which the company attributed primarily to declining digital asset prices. However, Galaxy’s core digital assets business segment demonstrated strength, generating $66 million in adjusted gross profit during the same quarter—a 34% quarter-over-quarter increase that highlights sustained institutional demand for its services and platforms. Galaxy Digital began trading publicly on the Nasdaq under the ticker GLXY in May 2025. While the stock has faced significant headwinds over the past year, declining roughly 25%, this digital assets growth demonstrates the resilience of institutional crypto adoption. On the day Bank Leumi announced the partnership, GLXY shares traded at $21.38, up approximately 2% for the session.
Mainstream banks integrating cryptocurrency trading through institutional partners represents a key milestone for crypto market legitimacy and accessibility.
Source: Bank Leumi, via Cointelegraph. Not financial advice.