TL;DR
- Israel Discount Bank plans to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading in its mobile app on November 26 for clients with securities-enabled accounts.
- The service will use Fireblocks infrastructure, keep custody and settlement inside the bank, and allow crypto gains and losses to offset investments for withholding tax.
- Customers will receive six months without account-management fees, while commissions remain undisclosed; if launched on schedule, Discount could precede Bank Leumi’s 2027 rollout.
Israel Discount Bank plans to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading through its mobile app on November 26, allowing eligible customers to buy, hold and sell both assets alongside stocks and bonds. According to published details, the service will operate through customers’ bank accounts without requiring a separate crypto exchange account or self-managed wallet. The launch would bring crypto trading into Discount Bank’s banking interface. The initial offering centers on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Discount Bank Brings Crypto Trading Into Its Mobile App
Private customers aged 18 or older can use the service if their accounts are enabled for securities trading. Digital assets will be held in bank-provided wallets using Fireblocks infrastructure, while sale proceeds can return to bank accounts. The model keeps trading, custody and cash settlement inside the banking relationship rather than requiring users to move funds between platforms. That structure places Discount within the broader shift toward bank-integrated crypto trading through familiar apps.
The bank also plans to integrate crypto tax treatment with investment portfolios. Clients can offset capital gains and losses from cryptocurrency activity against other investments for withholding-tax purposes, reducing the need to manage those calculations with the Israel Tax Authority. Tax handling is one of the service’s main operational differences from trading through a crypto platform. Discount will also offer a six-month exemption from account-management fees and says trading commissions will be low, although exact rates were not disclosed.
Discount’s November 26 timetable could put it ahead of Bank Leumi, whose service is expected to begin in early 2027. Leumi plans to offer Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana trading through Leumi Trade with Galaxy Digital providing trading and custody infrastructure. If Discount launches on schedule, it would become the first Israeli bank to bring this type of crypto trading service into full operation. The comparison follows Bank Leumi’s planned crypto rollout and reflects interest in digital-asset custody and trading within banking channels.
Discount Group CEO Avi Levi described the service as an initial stage in building the bank’s digital-asset infrastructure. The bank warned that cryptocurrency trading carries high risk because of price volatility. The November launch therefore combines simplified access with market risks attached to Bitcoin and Ethereum ownership. For customers, the key change is operational: crypto purchases, custody, sales, proceeds and tax treatment can be handled inside the bank’s app instead of through separate providers.
