Top Israel bank to start offering crypto trading services

Top Israeli bank, Bank Leumi, is set to become the first bank in the country to enable crypto trading services through its digital platform, Pepper Invest. This is coming after the traditional banking institution entered into a partnership with blockchain firm Paxos. 

Bank Leumi’s Pepper Invest crypto trading services

According to a Reuters report, users of Pepper Invest will be able to trade the flagship digital assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum, via the platform. It was revealed that customers could spend as little as 50 shekels ($15.49) for their crypto purchases.

It should be noted that the Bank Leumi announcement is still subject to the authorities’ approval, and as such, no specific date has been set for its launch.

However, part of the announcement reads that,

“Pepper will collect tax according to the guidelines of the Israeli Tax Authority so that customers will not need to manage tax complexities.”

Bank Leumi’s decision to embrace crypto trading points to the level of growth and popularity crypto-related activities are enjoying in the country. The bank is one of the largest banks in the Middle East country.

Just recently, Israel’s top financial regulator, the Israel Securities Authority, announced plans to regulate the crypto industry.

The regulator also hosted a fintech hackathon to score several collaborations with fintech experts. A move designed to help the regulator gain the needed exposure to regulate fintech and crypto.

Traditional banks keep moving towards crypto

While this is the first time a traditional bank in Israel is embracing crypto services, a number of conventional financial institutions around the world already have their hands in the crypto cookie. 

Most traditional banks and institutions like Standard Chartered, CitiBank, MasterCard, BNY Mellon, and UBS have shown interest in the space by investing in various crypto projects.

And with the increasing fear of losing their client base to new crypto startups, banks like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have stepped up their services by offering crypto trading options and offering crypto investment opportunities for their clients.

However, it should be noted that the lack of clear regulations guiding the crypto space appears to be a stumbling block limiting the majority of them from going fully into the industry.

But with the increasing adoption and popularity of the industry, more traditional institutions are likely to embrace the space, thereby bringing the much-needed regulatory clarity to the space.