Discount Bank plans Bitcoin and Ether trading in its app

The service is intended for private customers aged 18 or older whose accounts are enabled for securities trading. Access will be subject to the bank’s terms and an enrollment agreement, according to The Jerusalem Post. Fireblocks will provide infrastructure for the bank wallets holding customers’ digital assets, and sale proceeds will be credited directly to their bank accounts.

Elad Fisher, head of Discount’s Financial Markets Division, led the initiative. Group CEO Avi Levi called the launch an initial step in building the bank’s digital-currency infrastructure and capabilities. Levi said customers would be able to trade from their accounts “without the need for complex dedicated digital wallets,” The Jerusalem Post reported. Discount warned that crypto trading carries exceptional risk, including high volatility and the possibility of losing the entire investment.

The bank will waive account management fees for six months, but has not disclosed trading rates. Globes reported that Discount described its commissions as low. The tax service is designed to let customers offset crypto capital gains and losses against other investments in their portfolio when tax is deducted at source. Investors using external platforms must handle their tax obligations independently, Globes reported.

Discount’s planned launch would come ahead of Bank Leumi’s expected early-2027 crypto service for Leumi and PEPPER customers. Leumi announced a partnership with Galaxy on Aug. 14 to offer Bitcoin, Ether and Solana through Leumi Trade. GalaxyOne Institutional is to provide trading services, with custody supported by Galaxy’s Custody Infrastructure platform, formerly GK8. Globes noted that an earlier Pepper Invest arrangement with Paxos, announced in March 2022, did not reach a full-scale launch.