Israel's Largest Bank Returns to Bitcoin via Galaxy

Israel's largest bank is getting back into Bitcoin. Bank Leumi will let clients buy, hold and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana right inside its investment app.

What Leumi actually announced

Bank Leumi, Israel's largest financial institution by assets, has partnered with Galaxy to launch direct crypto trading for retail clients. Through the bank's mobile investment app, customers will be able to buy, hold and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana without moving to a third-party exchange. Launch is set for early 2027, so clients still have nearly half a year to wait after the official announcement.

The bank hasn't disclosed fees or trading limits yet. What's known is that the feature will roll out to all investment app clients, not just a premium tier. Rival banks worldwide are making similar moves, so Leumi is responding to clients who already buy crypto through foreign platforms or local brokers anyway. Keeping clients within the bank beats losing them to outside services.

The three assets weren't picked at random. Bitcoin and Ethereum have long been the standard pair for institutional products, and adding Solana shows the bank is looking past the two safest options. Solana didn't make the list just for show. Over the past year the network grew popular with retail investors thanks to low fees and fast transactions, and major market players already pair it with Bitcoin and Ethereum in their own offerings.

Local fintech startups have offered easier crypto access than traditional banks for years. Leumi risks losing younger customers if it keeps ignoring that demand.

A second attempt after the 2022 failure

This isn't Leumi's first run at crypto. Back in 2022, the bank prepared a similar product, but the plan never cleared approval from the Bank of Israel, the country's main financial regulator. The project was shelved at the preparation stage, before any public launch.

At the time, the central bank worried about risks to the banking system and blocked the launch. No detailed official reason was given. Market participants linked the refusal to the regulator's cautious stance on volatile assets sitting on bank balance sheets and the possible fallout for the country's financial stability. Israel's regulator traditionally moves slower than its American or European counterparts, so the rejection didn't surprise many.

Despite banks' caution, ordinary Israelis already had access to crypto through local exchanges and P2P platforms. Big banks simply stayed out, and that's exactly what Leumi is now trying to change.

What's different now: Galaxy and a softer regulator

This time Leumi is leaning on Galaxy, a publicly traded Nasdaq company founded by Mike Novogratz. Galaxy operates as a digital asset merchant bank and already runs custody infrastructure for large institutions, including staking programs for banks. That track record gives Leumi a technical foundation it didn't have in 2022, and it eases some of the questions around safekeeping client assets.

Morgan Stanley walked a similar path when it opened crypto trading through its E*TRADE platform, and so did BNY Mellon, which launched staking for institutional clients in partnership with the very same Galaxy. That's an extra point in Leumi's favor: if a major US custody bank trusts Galaxy, it's easier for an Israeli bank to justify the same partner to its own regulator.

Israel's regulatory climate has also loosened up. Central banks worldwide are increasingly letting traditional financial institutions handle digital assets, and Israel clearly doesn't want to sit this one out. The local regulator now appears willing to revisit its earlier caution, since global rivals have been moving forward for a while. The bank didn't say whether it secured formal preliminary approval or is simply banking on the general policy shift.

The bank also stressed that clients won't need to open a separate account with a crypto exchange or go through fresh verification. Everything happens inside the existing banking profile, so client identification doesn't change.

What bank clients actually get

The feature will run directly inside Leumi's investment app, with no separate exchange sign-up needed. That means buying, holding and selling three assets in the same interface clients already use for stocks and bonds. For someone who's never touched a crypto exchange, that lowers the barrier to entry considerably.

• Direct access to Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana without a separate exchange account
• Custody handled through Galaxy's infrastructure
• Buying, holding and selling assets inside the familiar banking interface
• Launch planned for early 2027, fees not yet disclosed

Just as important, clients keep access to the support and complaints channels they already know. If something goes wrong, they can call the bank instead of chasing answers in some overseas exchange's chat window.

Banks keep lining up for crypto

Leumi's story fits a bigger pattern. This year, traditional financial institutions have opened direct access to digital assets one after another, from brokerage platforms to major custodians. The Israeli bank is simply joining a trend that already swept the US and Europe, where large banks and brokers keep adding crypto trading to their standard investment lineups.

Leumi's rivals in Israel are probably watching this launch closely. If clients embrace crypto trading inside a banking app, other big banks in the country will likely need to offer something similar or risk losing market share.

There's still a risk the regulator changes course again before the 2027 launch. Israel's financial system is known for caution, and the Bank of Israel's final word isn't guaranteed yet.

Still, the buzz around crypto trading doesn't erase the risks. Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana prices remain volatile, and showing up inside a banking app doesn't make an asset any safer. Leumi is adding a convenient access channel, not a guarantee of profit.

For everyday users, this means more official ways to buy crypto, not just P2P trading and exchangers. Anyone already holding BTC or planning to sell Bitcoin for hryvnia gets one more signal that traditional banking is warming up to the asset. The more banks that treat crypto trading as a routine service, the fewer arguments remain for calling this market marginal or temporary.