Bank Leumi BLMIF (LUMI.TA) will become the first Israeli bank to enable cryptocurrency trading, its digital platform Pepper Invest said on Thursday after partnering with U.S. blockchain firm Paxos.
It said the new service will allow Pepper Invest customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies -- limited to Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD, for now -- in transactions worth at least 50 shekels ($15.49).
The statement gave no launch date, saying regulatory approval is pending. Leumi is one of Israel's two largest banks.
Bank Leumi’s decision to allow crypto trading follows a select number of banks across the world doing the same. Australia’s Commonwealth Bank in November 2021 announced that it would allow its customers to trade crypto on its platform, which was a first for the continent.
Banks have slowly come around to the idea of allowing crypto-related features on their platform. For a long time, they have shied away, with some even going so far as to criticize the market and call it a fad. Now, small banks and institutional ones alike have been taking to crypto.
Incumbent institutions do not want to miss out on the benefits that decentralized technology has to offer. Furthermore, newer platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood have had them scrambling to innovate and keep up.
According to the Israel Tax Authority, the use of cryptocurrencies in Israel is considered a means of virtual payment and subject to taxation. However, the start of Bitcoin and Ethereum trading by Bank Leumi in Israel is a remarkable step towards crypto adoption.
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