Bank Leumi Adds BTC, ETH, SOL Trading via Galaxy as GLXY Sits 25% Below Last Year

Bank Leumi, Israel’s largest lender, will let customers buy, hold and sell Bitcoin, Ether and Solana starting in early 2027, the bank said Friday, through a partnership with Galaxy Digital (Nasdaq: GLXY). The rollout will make Leumi the first Israeli bank to offer digital asset trading directly to retail and business customers, embedding crypto access inside a regulated banking app rather than routing users to standalone exchanges.

Trading will run through a dedicated section of the Leumi Trade app, with the bank’s mobile unit, Pepper, also carrying the feature. Galaxy will supply execution and related services via GalaxyOne Institutional, its platform built for banks and asset managers, while Leumi has separately signed on to use Galaxy’s custody infrastructure — the platform formerly branded GK8 — to secure the digital assets side of the operation.

Second attempt after a 2022 false start

Leumi first floated crypto trading plans back in 2022 but shelved the project. Four years later, the bank — which serves millions of retail and business customers — is reviving the effort with an institutional-grade partner already serving other banks and asset managers.

Neither company disclosed fees, commercial terms or customer eligibility requirements for the new service. Bank Leumi’s head of strategy, Maya Ravia, said in a statement that “digital assets are gradually becoming an integral part of the global financial system,” framing the move as giving customers exposure “within a reliable, secure, and regulated banking framework.” Galaxy Israel CEO Lior Lamesh said “the future of finance will run on open, programmable rails,” adding that banks moving first “will define the era that follows.”

Galaxy’s numbers tell a mixed story

The Leumi deal lands weeks after Galaxy reported an $85 million net loss for the second quarter, which the company attributed largely to falling digital asset prices. Even so, Galaxy’s digital assets business generated $66 million in adjusted gross profit for the quarter, up 34% from the prior three months — evidence that transaction and custody revenue held up even as token prices dragged on the balance sheet.

GLXY shares, which began trading on the Nasdaq in May 2025, changed hands around $21.38 on Friday morning, up roughly 2% on the day but still down about 25% over the past year, according to Yahoo Finance data cited alongside the announcement. For Galaxy, a marquee bank client in Israel adds a new revenue channel at a moment when its stock has yet to recover from the year’s broader pullback.

Bitcoin was trading near $62,993, Ether near $1,882 and Solana near $75.34 at the time of the announcement — levels that underscore why banks are increasingly willing to build direct trading rails: even at depressed prices relative to earlier cycle highs, customer demand for regulated crypto access has been enough to justify infrastructure investment from both a major bank and its institutional partner.

Why it matters for holders and traders

For Israeli crypto holders, the Leumi rollout means a familiar banking app becomes a legitimate on-ramp for BTC, ETH and SOL — potentially pulling volume away from offshore exchanges and into custody arrangements overseen by a domestic institution. For Galaxy, the partnership is a concrete data point that its institutional platform is winning bank-level clients even as its own share price remains under pressure, a divergence worth watching as more traditional lenders weigh similar tie-ups.

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Sources

• coingape.com
• cointelegraph.com
• bitcoinmagazine.com
• coindesk.com