Key Facts
Israel Discount Bank said customers will be able to buy, hold and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum through its app from Nov. 26.
Trading will run directly from customers' bank accounts, with crypto held in the bank's wallets through Fireblocks.
The bank said the service will allow capital gains and losses to be offset within customers' investment portfolios for tax withholding at source, and will be limited to customers aged 18 and over.
Israel Discount Bank said customers will be able to buy, hold and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum through its app from Nov. 26.
Trading will run directly from customers' bank accounts, with crypto held in the bank's wallets through Fireblocks.
The bank said the service will allow capital gains and losses to be offset within customers' investment portfolios for tax withholding at source, and will be limited to customers aged 18 and over.
"This is a first stage on the way to establishing an advanced technological infrastructure in the world of digital currencies," Discount Group CEO Avi Levy said, according to a translation of the release.
How It Works
It is offering six months without account management fees and what it described as low trading commissions. The release did not give commission rates.
Eligibility and Risk
The service is limited to private customers aged 18 and over, given the risks of crypto, and requires an account signed up for securities activity, subject to the bank's terms, the bank said. It warned that crypto trading carries "an exceptional level of risk," high volatility and the risk of losing the entire investment.
Elad Fisher, head of the bank's Financial Markets Division, led the project, according to the release.
