The Bank of Israel has given Pepper (Bank Leumi’s digital bank) permission to trade in Bitcoin and Ethereum through the investment application Pepper Invest.
In the future, the service is expected to expand to Bank Leumi customers as well.
The amount of the commissions is not yet known and it is not possible to know whether they are competitive in relation to the competitors on the market today – we will find that out later.
It should be noted that the news is not necessarily as good as it sounds because it will not be possible to keep the money in your private wallet and investing through them actually goes against all crypto principles in that a third party body holds the keys for you.
Remember: Not your keys Not your crypto.
A few days after the announcement, Bits of Gold and the Israeli Bitcoin Association appealed to the High Court following the approval that Bank Leumi and Pepper received from the Bank of Israel.
According to them, Bank Leumi received permission to operate an illegal service that on the one hand allows customers exposure to digital currencies but on the other hand does not allow them to withdraw the money to private wallets.
At the same time, Bits of Gold claims that Leumi does not allow their customers to invest in currencies independently and to return funds originating in crypto to their bank account.
The Israeli Bitcoin Association adds and claims that this is a severe blow to local competition. As part of the petition, an interim order was submitted calling for the freezing of Pepper and Leumi’s activity in the crypto field until the petition is heard at the High Court
