Bank Leumi Taps Galaxy to Launch Israel’s First Bank Crypto Trading in Early 2027

Galaxy Israel's Lior Lamesh said the future of finance will run on open, programmable rails. Bank Leumi will offer Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) trading to roughly 2.5 million retail customers from early 2027 through a partnership with Galaxy Digital (GLXY), the two companies said on August 14, in what they describe as the first digital asset trading service offered by a bank in Israel. Customers of Leumi and PEPPER (its mobile digital banking arm) will trade inside a dedicated, secured section of Leumi Trade, the bank’s capital markets application. GalaxyOne Institutional supplies the trading platform, and custody runs on Galaxy’s custody infrastructure platform, formerly known as GK8. “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,” said Maya Ravia, Head of Strategy at Bank Leumi. Regulator Blocked the 2022 Attempt The plan is subject to approval by the Bank of Israel. Leumi and PEPPER announced a partnership with Paxos to offer BTC and ETH trading back in 2022, and that service never reached customers after the Bank of Isra...