Israel’s second-largest bank, Bank Leumi is going to start a crypto trading service as per its digital subsidiary Pepper Invest. This will be the first time that any Israeli bank facilitates a crypto trading service in the country.
On 24th March, the bank’s digital platform Pepper Invest revealed a partnership with Paxos to run a crypto exchange service in Israel.
The partnership will enable its customers to trade and hold cryptocurrencies. However, initially only two leading cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ether will be tradable. Consumers will be able to invest in crypto for a minimum of nearly $15.
To confirm the launch of crypto exchange, the approach still needs regulatory approval. Pepper stated that if it will get approval from the authority then the service will impose a tax on transactions to follow the guidelines of the Israeli Tax Authority. This will also reduce the tax burden and complexities.
“Pepper will collect tax according to the guidelines of the Israeli Tax Authority so that customers will not need to manage tax complexities” it said, adding that the service will also overcome the risks of downloading a digital wallet.
There are more details that are awaited to reveal in the upcoming weeks.
However, Israeli regulatory authorities don’t like crypto very much. Their last moves pretend that they want to ensure the security and the impact of digital assets on the country’s economy. At the request of Israel’s authority, Binance has freezed its operation in the country.
The regulatory authorities are also ensuring that digital assets are not used for cross-border terrorism or any other illicit purposes. After finding suspicious activity, the Defense Minister of Israel has suspended 12 crypto accounts linked to terrorists.
Many crypto exchange platforms already made a deal to provide their services in Israel. Largest crypto exchange Coinbase acquired Israel security firm Unbound to obtain access to its cryptographic security expertise and to create a presence in Israel.
