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Bank Leumi will become the first Israeli bank to enable crypto trading through its digital platform Pepper Invest after partnering with U.S. blockchain firm Paxos. According to a Thursday report from Reuters, Bank Leumi will allow customers to trade and hold Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Customers will be able to trade the mentioned crypto assets initially in transactions starting from $15.
“Pepper will collect tax according to the guidelines of the Israeli Tax Authority so that customers will not need to manage tax complexities,” the official statement said.
However, the statement did not provide any anticipated launch date for the new service, saying that the approval is still pending with the Israeli government.
Banks are Embracing Cryptos
Bank Leumi is not the first lender to dive into cryptocurrencies. For instance, Singapore’s DBS is already offering crypto trading services for institutions and is now set to bring these services to retail customers by the end of the year. South Korea’s KB Bank is also gearing up to bring crypto investment products to retail clients. Similarly, Australia’s Commonwealth Bank in November 2021 announced that it would allow its customers to trade crypto on its platform.