Israel Discount Bank to Launch Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading in Its App on November 26

Israel Discount Bank will allow eligible customers to buy, hold, and sell Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) through its mobile banking app starting November 26, 2026. The bank announced the service on Wednesday, November 11. If the launch goes ahead as planned, it will be the first Israeli bank to offer direct crypto trading from a customer’s bank account.

What Discount Bank Announced

Israel Discount Bank, listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) under the ticker DSCT, said customers will be able to trade the two cryptocurrencies directly through the bank’s mobile app from November 26. Customers will not need an account on an external exchange or a separate digital wallet. Crypto will sit in the same investment portfolio as stocks and bonds, and proceeds from sales will be credited directly to the customer’s bank account.

According to Globes, the service is open to private customers aged 18 and older whose accounts are enabled for securities trading, subject to the bank’s terms. The bank said it set the age limit because of the risks involved in crypto trading.

Discount Group CEO Avi Levi said: “For the first time in the banking system, Discount Bank will facilitate the trading of digital currencies directly from a bank account, simply and securely, without the need for complex, dedicated digital wallets.”

He described the launch as a first step toward building advanced technological infrastructure in digital currencies and developing the bank’s capabilities in the area. The project was led by Elad Fisher, head of the bank’s Financial Markets Division.

How Custody, Tax and Fees Will Work

The coins will be held in wallets managed by the bank and built on infrastructure from Fireblocks, a digital asset custody and infrastructure company whose clients include BNY, Galaxy and Revolut. Discount said bank-managed wallets spare customers the work of running their own wallet and the risk of losing access to their coins.

The model has a limit. TheMarker reported that the service will run as a “closed garden”. The bank keeps the coins on the customer’s behalf, and customers cannot hold the assets in a wallet they control.

On tax, customers will be able to offset crypto capital gains and losses against other investments in their portfolio, with tax withheld at source. Globes noted that investors using overseas platforms usually have to handle their own reporting with the Israel Tax Authority. Ice gave an example: a loss on a Bitcoin sale could be set against a gain on a stock sale, subject to tax rules.

On cost, the bank is offering a six-month exemption from account management fees and describes its trading commissions as “low”. However, it did not give the exact rates in its announcement, and it has not said what management fees will apply after the waiver ends. Ice reported that those numbers will decide how the service compares with other options.

The bank also warned that crypto trading carries exceptionally high risk and high volatility, including the possibility of losing the entire investment. That volatility was on display the day of the announcement. Bitcoin recovered above $74,500 on November 11 after falling below $73,000 intraday following hotter-than-expected US inflation data.

Race With Bank Leumi

Discount is not the first Israeli bank to announce crypto trading, but it may be the first to go live. On August 14, 2026, Bank Leumi, Israel’s largest bank, announced a partnership with Galaxy Digital. Under that deal, customers of Leumi and its digital banking arm PEPPER will be able to trade Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana inside the Leumi Trade app. Leumi will use GalaxyOne Institutional for trading and Galaxy’s custody platform, formerly called GK8. The Crypto Times reported at the time that Leumi had not disclosed fees or a specific launch date.

Leumi has tried this before. In March 2022, PEPPER announced plans for crypto trading through Pepper Invest, but the initiative never reached a full-scale launch. Globes noted that because Leumi’s new service is not expected until early 2027, Discount will launch first if it holds to its timetable.

The two models differ in a few ways. Leumi plans to offer three assets through a dedicated trading app with Galaxy as its partner. Discount is starting with two assets inside its main banking app, using Fireblocks as its infrastructure provider.

Why This Is Happening Now

Israeli crypto investors have long struggled to move sale proceeds into domestic bank accounts. Banks have cited source-of-funds checks under anti-money laundering (AML) rules. In May 2022, the Bank of Israel’s Banking Supervision Department added rules on crypto-related payment services to Proper Conduct of Banking Business Directive 411. Those rules treated such services as high risk, while barring banks from refusing payments to licensed providers solely because crypto was involved.

The central bank has since softened its approach. On October 7, 2026, the Supervisor of Banks issued Circular H-06-2862, which amends Section 87A of Directive 411. Under the amendment, banks may not refuse payment services only because funds come from virtual currency activity. It replaces the previous NIS 100,000 annual threshold for source-of-funds inquiries with a risk-based assessment. The changes take effect on May 1, 2027.

Other parts of Israel’s crypto framework are also developing. In April 2026, the Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority (CMISA) approved BILS, the country’s first shekel-pegged stablecoin, issued by Bits of Gold. Competition in banking is also widening: the Bank of Israel has allowed Revolut Payments Israel to proceed through the stages of applying for a banking license.

Who Stands to Benefit and What the Trade-Offs Are

Retail investors get crypto access inside a regulated bank account. They will not have to manage private keys or open foreign exchange accounts, and tax is handled automatically. For people who stayed away from crypto because of wallets, overseas platforms, or trouble getting money back into their bank, this removes the main practical barriers.

Discount Bank gains a possible new source of fee income and a way to keep customers who might otherwise move funds to outside platforms. Ice noted that the bank has not given any estimate of expected volumes or revenue. Ice also describes Discount as one of Israel’s five largest banks, with a market value of about NIS 41.8 billion.

Fireblocks adds another regulated bank to its client list. The deal also positions it against Galaxy, Leumi’s infrastructure partner, in Israel’s emerging market for bank-led crypto services.

Licensed local platforms face a new competitor with an existing customer base. Some of them already offer similar conveniences. For example, Bits of Gold withholds tax at source on crypto sold for shekels on its platform.

The trade-offs are just as real:

• Customers cannot withdraw coins to their own wallets.
• Only two assets are available at launch.
• Commission rates have not been published.

TheMarker also noted that banks will need to show their costs are meaningfully lower than buying a crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF).

How Banks Elsewhere Are Moving

Discount’s model of in-app trading with bank custody matches a pattern that has spread across several markets:

• United States: SoFi Bank launched SoFi Crypto on November 11, 2025, calling itself the first nationally chartered US bank to offer consumers crypto trading. The company reported 503,070 crypto products at the end of the third quarter of 2026. Brokerages have followed, with Morgan Stanley’s E*TRADE and Charles Schwab now offering spot crypto trading.
• United Arab Emirates: On October 14, 2026, Standard Chartered launched Bitcoin and Ether trading for eligible affluent clients through their existing bank accounts. The service is regulated by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and initially limited to professional investors.
• Hong Kong: ZA Bank became the first bank in Asia to offer retail virtual asset trading on November 25, 2024, letting retail users trade BTC and ETH in its app through HashKey Exchange.
• South Africa: Discovery Bank opened crypto trading in its app from December 1, 2025, through its partnership with Luno.
• Europe and Russia: Switzerland’s BancaStato added Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Solana trading through Sygnum. Sberbank is testing in-app crypto trading ahead of a planned December 1 launch under new Bank of Russia rules.

What Comes Next

The service goes live on November 26. Key things to watch:

• whether Discount publishes its full commission and custody fee schedule
• whether it adds assets beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum
• whether it ever lets customers withdraw coins to external wallets
• how quickly Leumi and Israel’s other large banks respond

The Bank of Israel’s revised Directive 411, which takes effect in May 2027, may also change how easily crypto-linked funds move through the wider banking system.

Also Read: Russia to Allow Crypto Trading on Exchanges From November 22