Israel Discount Bank will let retail customers buy, hold and sell bitcoin and ether inside its mobile app from Nov. 26, a service the bank bills as a first for Israel. The bank’s product page shows what customers get in exchange for the convenience: a 2% commission on every trade, a custody fee after a six-month waiver, and no way to move coins in or out of the account.
What Discount is launching
The service sits inside the bank’s existing securities account, so bitcoin and ether show up next to stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Customers will not need an account at an outside exchange or a wallet of their own. The coins will be held in bank wallets built on infrastructure from Fireblocks, Globes reported, citing the bank’s announcement on Wednesday.
It is open to Israeli residents aged 18 and over who are private clients with accounts enabled for securities trading. Corporate accounts are excluded. Customers sign the bank’s general securities terms and a complex-products annex, then a dedicated agreement in the app, after which they can trade straight away. Bitcoin and ether are the only assets at launch. The bank said it may look at adding others later.
The mechanics are closer to a brokerage than an exchange. Orders are executed immediately in real time, and customers cannot set future-dated buy or sell orders for now. Positions appear in the portfolio at once, but cash settles the next business day. Trading follows the hours of the bank’s dealing room, Sunday through Friday, rather than running around the clock as crypto markets do. The minimum order is 0.01 of a coin, and sale proceeds are paid in U.S. dollars, with conversion to shekels only on the customer’s instruction.
The fees and the closed loop
Globes reported that the announcement described trading commissions as low without giving a rate. The product page does give one: 2% of each trade made in the app, not including any currency conversion charge. Custody is free for six months from the Nov. 26 launch, and then costs 0.25% a quarter, or about 1% a year.
That means a customer who buys and later sells pays about 4% in commissions on the round trip before conversion costs, which is a lot for an asset bought to hold. The bank pitches its pricing as fixed and known in advance, with no surprise network fees or complicated withdrawal charges.
The bigger limit is that the service is a closed system. The bank says customers cannot transfer coins into the account from another provider, or send them out to outside platforms or private wallets. Holders get price exposure and a tax treatment, not coins they can use on chain. The bank said it would look at allowing transfers in the future, depending on regulatory and business developments, but gave no timetable.
Why Israeli investors may take the trade-off
Tax and banking friction are the selling points. Because the crypto sits in the same portfolio as a customer’s securities, the bank says losses on bitcoin or ether can be offset against capital gains on stocks automatically, and the other way round, when tax is withheld at source. Israeli investors using outside platforms generally have to settle that with the Israel Tax Authority themselves.
Globes also pointed to a long-running problem for Israeli crypto holders: banks have often demanded proof of the source of funds before accepting money that came from crypto activity, to meet anti-money laundering rules. Proceeds from Discount’s service land directly in the customer’s account, so that check does not arise in the same way.
The bank’s own risk warning is blunt. It says crypto trading carries exceptional risk, high volatility and the possibility of losing the entire investment, that digital currencies are not legal tender, and that customers do not get the protections that apply to securities.
Racing Leumi to launch
Discount is not the first Israeli bank to announce crypto trading, but it is on course to be the first to switch it on. Bank Leumi announced a bitcoin and ether plan with Paxos in March 2022 that never reached a full launch, and in August said it would offer bitcoin, ether and solana through the Leumi Trade app with Galaxy Digital, a service expected to go live in early 2027, according to Globes.
The move fits a wider shift in which large banks are taking crypto in-house rather than sending clients to exchanges. Deutsche Bank this week switched on crypto custody for institutional clients. Discount’s version is aimed squarely at retail savers, and its first test comes on Nov. 26.
FAQ
Can I withdraw bitcoin bought through Discount Bank to my own wallet?
No. The bank says the service is a closed system for now. Coins cannot be sent to outside platforms or private wallets, or transferred in from elsewhere.
How much does it cost?
According to the bank’s product page, 2% of each buy or sell, plus currency conversion where needed. Custody is free for six months from Nov. 26 and then 0.25% a quarter.
Who can use it?
Israeli residents aged 18 and over who are private Discount customers with accounts enabled for securities trading, subject to the bank’s terms.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
