Buy crypto in Israel: the best exchanges and every way to pay

Most Israelis buying crypto for the first time do it on a phone, with a credit card, for a small amount. That is a sensible start, provided you understand three things up front. First, the money leaves a shekel account and lands on a platform that usually charges in dollars, so part of what you pay is currency conversion. Second, the platform you buy on is probably where you will sell, so it is worth thinking now about how the money will get back to your bank. Third, every trade leaves a record, and capital gains tax applies even if you never withdraw a single shekel.

1. Choose a platform by how you will pay

   Cards and Apple Pay work well on international exchanges. If you want to pay in shekels, set up a standing order, or keep your bank’s questions to a minimum, a licensed Israeli platform is the better fit. Compare the exchanges.

2. Sign up and verify your identity

   A photo of your biometric ID card or passport, a selfie and sometimes proof of address. Israeli platforms also ask a short source-of-funds questionnaire. It normally takes anywhere from minutes to a few hours.

3. Deposit or pay

   By card, the purchase is instant. By bank transfer, the money arrives within hours or a business day, depending on your bank and the time of day. Why card issuers sometimes decline.

4. Buy, then decide where to keep it

   A small amount can stay on the platform. An amount you would hate to lose belongs in a wallet you control, and a truly large one in a hardware wallet. Our wallet guide.

5. Keep every statement

   Your trade history as a CSV or PDF file will be needed for your tax return and by your bank when you sell. How the tax is calculated.

Picture a student in Beer Sheva with a Max credit card who wants ₪300 of Bitcoin. A card purchase on an international exchange gets it done in one evening, and the main costs are the card fee and any conversion charge on the dollar transaction. Now picture a freelancer in Tel Aviv whose clients pay in dollars into a Leumi FX account: for them a SWIFT transfer in dollars may be cheaper than any card. And a family that mostly deals in cash will find the nearest Bitcoin Change branch more natural, accepting a higher fee for a face-to-face service. Same goal, three different routes.

If all you want is exposure to the Bitcoin price, without holding a coin, there is now a route that needs no exchange at all. Since 31 December 2024, funds that track the Bitcoin price have traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and you buy them from your ordinary bank trading account. That is convenient for tax and reporting, but you do not own a coin you can send or spend. Bitcoin fund or the real thing.

Most of the physical infrastructure is concentrated in the Gush Dan area: there are branches in Tel Aviv (King George 50), Ramat Gan (Tuval 36, a few hundred metres from the Diamond Exchange) and Rishon LeZion (Rothschild 1). Jerusalem, a city of more than a million people, has a single branch on Jaffa Street, and Haifa and Netanya also have just one each. In the south there is a branch in Beer Sheva, while Eilat works by appointment only. In the north, Afula, Karmiel and Ein Shemer have branches, but Nazareth, Tiberias and the Upper Galilee do not.

All of these branches belong to one network, Bitcoin Change. It charges 7% on every buy and sell, with caps of ₪10,000 a day, ₪20,000 a week and ₪30,000 a month, and you need two valid IDs. According to its website, it holds a temporary continuation-of-activity permit from CMISA and its application for a full licence is pending. Big cities such as Petah Tikva, Ashdod, Holon and Bnei Brak have no point at all. If someone offers you a crypto change service in a shop, a flat or a Telegram group, it is most likely an unlicensed business, and such operations are often already on the police radar. The full list of Bitcoin ATMs, with hours and phone numbers.