Bank Leumi Partners with Galaxy for Crypto Trading
Israel's largest bank, Bank Leumi, has announced a partnership with Galaxy to offer services for buying, holding, and selling Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana to Leumi and PEPPER customers through the Leumi Trade app starting in early 2027. The services will utilize Galaxy's institutional trading and custody infrastructure. This service is subject to regulatory approval from the Bank of Israel. Once launched, Leumi will become the first bank in Israel to provide digital asset trading services. On the market level, traditional banks' entry into crypto trading drives retail funds into regulated channels, benefiting Galaxy from the expansion of institutional infrastructure, while local exchanges face pressure from customer diversion. Source: Public Information
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Bank Leumi previously announced a partnership with Paxos in 2022 to explore crypto services, but it did not materialize. The shift to Galaxy indicates a renewed push into digital assets following clearer regulations. In terms of capital strategy, the bank aims to integrate crypto into its existing investment applications through Galaxy's trading and custody capabilities, focusing resources on compliant retail entry points to capture Israel's high crypto penetration customers and solidify its leading position in local financial innovation. Similar cases can be seen in the U.S. and Europe, where several banks have partnered to offer Bitcoin trading, as well as early pilots by banks in places like Singapore; Leumi is currently transitioning from a traditional bank to a comprehensive digital asset service provider. The structural assessment indicates a reconstruction of the industry chain: banks are incorporating crypto into regulated account systems through institutional partnerships, with the mechanism aimed at lowering retail entry barriers and reshaping local crypto fund flows. ABAB News · Cognitive Law 1. Bank licenses are the ultimate entry point for crypto retail 2. Regulatory approval determines the speed of innovation implementation 3. Custody capabilities define the boundaries of banks in crypto.