Leumi Bank to offer Bitcoin trading for 2.5M clients in 2027

Israel’s largest commercial bank is finally ready to put crypto on the same screen as your savings account. Bank Leumi has announced a partnership with Galaxy Digital and its custody subsidiary GK8 to offer trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana directly through its Leumi Trade platform and Pepper mobile app, with a planned rollout in early 2027. The bank’s roughly 2.5 million retail clients would be able to buy, hold, and sell digital assets alongside stocks and bonds, all in one place. Leumi will handle custody through GK8’s infrastructure and take responsibility for tax compliance on behalf of customers. The second act This is not Leumi’s first attempt at getting into crypto. In 2022, the bank tried to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading through a partnership with Paxos, only to shelve the whole project when the Bank of Israel declined to grant regulatory approval. What’s changed since then is the regulatory environment. Israel has made meaningful progress on its framework for virtual asset service providers, creating a clearer path for banks that want to offer digital asset services. That updated landscape is what makes this 2026 announcement feel more durable than its predec...