The 10 best crypto exchanges for Israeli residents

Most lists of the best crypto exchanges in Israel put Bit2C next to Binance and stop there. They rarely ask the questions that matter to someone with a shekel account at Leumi or Hapoalim: can I deposit shekels, is the platform licensed by the Capital Market Authority, and what happens when I want my money back in the bank? This ranking is built around those questions, using each platform’s own website, as of October 2026.

Two things are worth knowing up front. No single platform wins on everything: the international exchanges are cheap and broad, the Israeli ones are licensed and speak shekels. And first place is not automatically the right choice for you. If you pay by bank transfer and want the cleanest possible story for your bank, your answer is probably at number two or three.

How we ranked: seven criteria, in order of weight

Each platform gets a score out of 10. The criteria are weighted in this order, so the first counts for more than the seventh. No platform paid for its position, and we are neither a broker nor investment advisers.

1. Does it accept Israel?

   We checked every platform’s restricted-country list. Anything that does not serve Israeli residents is out, which is why Revolut and PayPal crypto are missing.

2. Regulation, local and group-level

   A CMISA licence counts most. Next come the group’s registrations and licences elsewhere, such as the US, the UK or the EU.

3. Shekel access and the way out

   Can you deposit shekels, and above all, how does money get back into an Israeli bank account, and with how much friction?

4. Entry-tier fees

   What a first-time buyer spending a few thousand shekels pays, not a trader turning over millions.

5. Track record and security

   How long the platform has operated and whether any loss of customer funds or major security incident is on record.

6. App quality

   Rating and number of ratings in Apple’s Israeli App Store, as checked on 5 October 2026.

7. Hebrew support

   Hebrew interface and support. In our check, only the Israeli apps declare Hebrew.

In the interest of transparency: CEX.IO leads on criteria one, four and five and on group-level regulation, so it ranks first. The Israeli platforms lead on local licensing, shekel access and Hebrew. If you weight the shekel and the bank more heavily than we do, you could reasonably reorder the top three, and that is fine.

The ranking: top 10 crypto exchanges for Israeli residents

Scores are the same everywhere on this site, including in the full reviews. Each name links to the official website, and eight of the ten have a detailed review.

1. CEX.IO

   Editor’s pick

   International · operating since 2013

   The shortest path from an Israeli card to a coin. Israel is not on CEX.IO’s list of unsupported countries, so residents can open an account and verify their identity, and Israel is on its Earn (Savings and Staking) list. You can pay with Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or send dollars by SWIFT for 0.1% (minimum $10). The catches: no shekel, no Hebrew, charges in USD, EUR or GBP, and no CMISA licence, like every other international exchange here. How card purchases work.

   • Card 0.49–4.99% + service charge
   • Spot 0.15% / 0.25%
   • 300+ coins
   • New accounts: $1,000/day, $3,000/month
   9.1 /10

   Open account cex.io↗ Review: CEX.IO →

2. Bits of Gold

   Israeli · permanent licence 56716

   The most convenient licensed way in and out in shekels: bank transfer, Instant Transfer through your bank app, Israeli credit cards and standing orders. The app and support are in Hebrew, and the company issues signed statements and a closed-loop certificate that banks recognise. It also issues BILS, the shekel stablecoin approved in late April 2026. Downsides: 1.95% and up plus VAT, only nine coins, and a personal-data incident in August 2026; the company says funds, passwords and keys were not exposed.

   • 1.95% to 1.2% + VAT
   • Israeli card: +3.5%
   • Standing order 1.55%
   • Free bank withdrawal from ₪750
   8.7 /10

   bitsofgold.co.il↗ Review: Bits of Gold →

3. Bit2C

   Israeli · extended licence 72080 · eToro-owned

   Israel’s only order book traded against shekels (Bitosi Pro), which makes it the cheapest licensed route for anyone willing to place their own orders. Client shekels sit in a trust account at Discount Bank, and a pilot service pays your crypto tax straight from the account. The instant-buy broker is expensive, there are no cards, only four coins, and you need two Israeli ID documents. eToro completed the acquisition in Q2 2026.

   • Pro: 1.25% to 0.05%
   • Broker: from 5%
   • BTC, ETH, LTC, USDC
   • Shekel withdrawal: ₪80
   8.3 /10

   bit2c.co.il↗ Review: Bit2C →

4. eToro

   Israeli-founded broker · not licensed in Israel

   The big Israeli success story: founded in Tel Aviv, listed on Nasdaq, with crypto and stocks in one app at 1% per position on the basic tiers. But according to its help centre, Israeli residents need a first deposit of $10,000. The account runs in dollars and the platform itself holds no Israeli licence; the Israeli licence belongs to its subsidiary Bit2C.

   • 1% to buy or sell
   • $5 withdrawal
   • $10,000 first deposit
   • No shekel account currency
   7.9 /10

   etoro.com↗ Review: eToro →

5. Kraken

   International · since 2011

   Israel is not on Kraken’s list of restricted regions (updated 30 September 2026). It has a strong security reputation, and its app is the best-rated international exchange in the Israeli App Store (4.79★). No shekel. The fee page as served to us showed Kraken Pro at 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker on the entry tier; confirm it from an Israeli connection before you decide.

   • Pro 0.40% / 0.80%
   • Instant buy: 1% + spread
   • App 4.79★
   • OTC from $50,000
   7.8 /10

   kraken.com↗ Review: Kraken →

6. Coinbase

   International · Nasdaq-listed

   Coinbase’s help centre lists Israeli national IDs, passports and driving licences as accepted documents. What exactly Israelis can use (card, fiat, Advanced Trade) we could not confirm, because the site blocks automated checks. Treat it as card or crypto purchases with no shekel until you see otherwise.

   • App 4.26★
   • No shekel
   • Feature set unconfirmed
   7.3 /10

   coinbase.com↗

7. Binance

   International · world’s largest

   The widest coin range and deepest liquidity, and the exchange app with by far the most ratings in Israel (over 18,000). But it dropped the shekel in February 2022, and Binance P2P showed no shekel ads at all on 5 October 2026. Which Binance entity contracts with Israelis is unclear. The counter-terror seizures of 2021–2023 targeted accounts linked to terror financing, not ordinary users.

   • No shekel, no shekel P2P
   • App 4.59★
   • No Israeli licence
   7.1 /10

   binance.com↗ Review: Binance →

8. OKX

   International · shekel P2P

   The only major exchange where we found a live shekel P2P market: 25 ads selling and 38 buying USDT, paid by transfer from Hapoalim, Leumi, Discount or Mercantile, or by Bit. The best ad was 1.5% over the market rate, but the median was around 21% over. A transfer from your Israeli account to a stranger is exactly the pattern banks examine, so we do not recommend this route.

   • Shekel P2P: 25/38 ads
   • App 4.64★
   • No Israeli licence
   6.9 /10

   okx.com↗ Review: OKX →

9. Bybit

   International · derivatives

   The second most-rated exchange app in Israel, with a wide product range. In February 2025 about $1.5bn in ether was stolen from one of its cold wallets; Bybit reportedly covered customer losses. Much of the activity is derivatives and leverage, which suit experienced traders only. It also has shekel P2P ads (13 selling, 59 buying in our snapshot).

   • App 4.68★
   • Hacked Feb 2025
   • No Israeli licence
   6.6 /10

   bybit.com↗

10. Coinmama

    International · Israeli-founded

    Founded in Israel in 2013 and long run from Ramat Gan, it is now a brand of a Canadian group. It is a simple broker: pay by card and the coins go to your own wallet, from $50. Review sites put fees between 0.99% and 3.9%. They also say Israel is not restricted, but we could not find the company’s own country list.

    • Fees 0.99–3.9%
    • From $50
    • No custody
    6.2 /10

    coinmama.com↗

Comparison table: licence, shekels and entry fees

The same ten names on one screen. Each name links to the official site; the last column is the thing you would want to know before signing up.

What Israelis actually get: shekels, Hebrew, licence, card, P2P

Five yes-or-no questions that make the biggest difference day to day. ✓ = yes, ✕ = no, ~ = partly or unconfirmed.

Three things stand out. Only the two Israeli platforms take shekels straight from your bank; everyone else works by card, by SWIFT in dollars or with crypto. No international app declares Hebrew in the Israeli App Store, and that includes CEX.IO, Binance and Kraken. And shekel P2P only lives on OKX and Bybit, where it is a thin market of a few dozen ads.

On cards, Bits of Gold accepts Israeli-issued cards only, capped at ₪10,000 a day and ₪100,000 a year. International exchanges bill in a foreign currency, so your card company may add a conversion fee, and occasionally decline the payment. We cover this in detail in buying crypto with a card.

Fees: what a first ₪1,000 purchase really costs

The headline fee is only part of the story. There is also the spread between the buy price and the market price, your card company’s conversion fee, withdrawal fees and VAT on Israeli platforms’ charges. Here is the stated entry-tier fee for each route:

Now a worked example with ₪1,000. At Bits of Gold by bank transfer the fee is 1.95%, but there is a minimum fee of ₪43 before VAT. On ₪1,000 that means roughly ₪51 including VAT, over 5%. The percentage only overtakes the minimum above about ₪2,200. On top of that, the price shown on the site was about 2.5% above the market reference when we checked; the company says its displayed prices include the cost of buying the coin and FX conversion. If you buy small amounts, one larger purchase or a standing order at 1.55% works out better.

On Bit2C Pro the same ₪1,000 costs ₪12.50 in trading fees, but you have to place an order, and the local order-book price can drift from the global rate. Bit2C’s instant buy costs ₪50. At CEX.IO by card, ₪1,000 is roughly $330, and the fee runs from 0.49% to 4.99% plus a service charge, plus whatever your card adds for the foreign-currency charge. Send dollars by SWIFT to CEX.IO and trade on the exchange itself, and you pay 0.1% on the deposit and 0.15–0.25% on the trade, but you need a dollar account at your bank and at least $300. For comparison, at a Bitcoin ATM run by Bitcoin Change, ₪1,000 gets you bitcoin worth ₪930.

Licensed in Israel or international: what changes in practice

Israel has no standalone crypto law. Anyone providing a service in a financial asset, including an exchange, broker or custodian, needs a licence from the Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority (CMISA) under the Supervision of Financial Services (Regulated Financial Services) Law, 2016. The first permanent licences came in September 2022 and only a few have followed. CMISA enforces it too: in March 2025 it shut down the unlicensed exchange Bitin and fined it about ₪1.7 million.

None of the big international exchanges holds an Israeli licence: not Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, Bybit or CEX.IO. Using them is not illegal, but understand what it means. Your account is with a foreign entity (at CEX.IO, the group’s international entity), so Israeli investor protection does not apply. What you can check is the group’s regulation elsewhere. CEX.IO is a FinCEN-registered money services business in the US with state money-transmitter licences, holds a UK FCA registration for anti-money-laundering purposes only (not authorisation), and has a regulated presence in Gibraltar. It has no EU MiCA licence.

A bill known as Amendment 18, which passed first reading in May 2026, would let regulated foreign firms obtain a tailored Israeli licence. As of October 2026 it has not been enacted. Until it is, the only way to hold crypto under Israeli regulation is through Bits of Gold, Bit2C or Altshuler Shaham’s Horizon. A third option, which is not an exchange at all, is the bitcoin mutual funds traded in Tel Aviv since 31 December 2024. For the full regulator picture, see is crypto legal in Israel.

What your bank will think of each platform

Choosing an exchange is also choosing the story you will tell your bank when you sell. Bank of Israel Proper Conduct of Banking Business Directive 411 forbids a bank to refuse money solely because crypto is involved, but requires it to manage risk, treat licensed and unlicensed providers differently, and look hard at the source of funds once activity passes about ₪100,000 a year.

A licensed Israeli platform carries the least friction. Bits of Gold issues signed transaction histories, an annual tax report and a closed-loop certificate, yet still suggests checking with your branch first because every bank has its own policy. Bit2C only accepts and returns shekels to one account in your own name, and warns that some banks may block transfers to or from it.

With an international exchange, expect questions. You can withdraw dollars by SWIFT to a foreign-currency account and arrive with your statements in order, or send the coins to Bits of Gold and sell there for 1.95% plus VAT, so the shekels come from a licensed firm. For very large sums a bank may ask for an expert opinion; One Zero, for example, offers an in-house check for 3%. A Bank of Israel draft dated 14 July 2026 proposes a fast track for money from licensed firms, but it is not in force yet. The documents, steps and fixes are in our guide to crypto and Israeli banks, and the selling side in how to sell and cash out.

Bits of Gold vs Bit2C: which one fits you

Israel’s two licensed retail platforms are very different animals. Bits of Gold is a broker: you see a price, you confirm, done. Bit2C, now legally Bitosi eToro, is mainly an exchange with an order book.

In practice: if you buy a fixed amount once a month and want it to happen on its own, Bits of Gold and its standing order will suit you better. If you buy larger amounts, know what a limit order is and only need bitcoin and ether, Bit2C Pro will cost you far less. Both need full Israeli identity verification. Bit2C asks for two Israeli ID documents, and Bits of Gold’s starter plan is capped at ₪5,000 per six months with one document. Full reviews: Bits of Gold · Bit2C.

What did not make the list, and why

Altshuler Shaham Horizon holds a permanent CMISA licence, but its website was unreachable when we checked, and the fees quoted in the press (from 4.95%) are high. Tectona is licensed but serves institutions. Bitget and KuCoin accept Israelis under their own terms but bring no local advantage. Bank Leumi and PEPPER have announced bitcoin, ether and solana trading with Galaxy, but only from early 2027 and subject to Bank of Israel approval. Today, no Israeli bank sells crypto.

Revolut and PayPal crypto are not available to Israeli residents, so we did not rank them. Nor did we rank Bitcoin Change: it is a network of 11 staffed cash desks with machines, not an exchange, and we review it separately. Unlicensed “crypto change” shops, whether on a high street or on Telegram, will never appear on any list of ours.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. CEX.IO — unsupported countries · checked 5 October 2026
2. Bits of Gold help centre — what are your costs · updated 30 August 2026
3. Bit2C — fee schedule · checked 5 October 2026
4. eToro — Q2 2026 results (Bit2C acquisition) · 11 August 2026
5. Kraken — geographic restrictions · updated 30 September 2026
6. Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority · licence register

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