Israel to Fight Bitcoin by a “Digital Shekel”?

Israel to Fight Bitcoin by a “Digital Shekel”?

Israel might be looking forward to creating the state-sponsored cryptocurrency. It will be a response to the world’s bitcoin craze.

Such a conclusion comes out of the claims made by the Israeli finance official in the interview with The Jerusalem Post, which was conducted on the condition of anonymity. According to his words, currently, the Finance Ministry and Bank of Israel are mulling over launching a digital shekel.

Our top trading bots

Crypto shekel in use: good or bad?

Israel’s national cryptocurrency is expected to record every operation by mobile phone. It will also become an obstacle on the way to tax evasion.

The official informed that the probability of creating the national cryptocurrency had been examined by Israeli regulators for a couple of months. The country’s government might review experimental legal framework in January 2018. Interestingly, the state-sponsored crypto shekel could be very similar in value to the physical shekel that is being in use at the moment.

“You can imagine that instead of giving you a piece of paper saying the Bank of Israel on it, I can send you a piece of digital code that was issued by a central bank,” the official suggested.

However, it is obscure yet whether the digital wallet for crypto shekel will be located in a Bank of Israel account or on person’s mobile phone. At the same time, it is unknown what to do in case the phone with the digital wallet was stolen. Right now it is a question of the regulation.

Are Israeli banks afraid of cryptocurrencies?

Perhaps, banks worldwide indeed consider cryptocurrencies as a threat. That’s why they are looking for measures to take in order to battle them.

“Governments have two options,” said Lou Kerner, who is a partner at a venture-capital firm CryptoOracle and a bitcoin investo, when commenting Israel Securities Authority’s recent decision to bar bitcoin-related companies from trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

“They can either roll out the red tape or roll out the red carpet – and they roll out the red tape at their own peril. So, it turns out, these [bitcoin-related] companies will go somewhere else. And the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange loses out. It’s like saying, ‘We won’t allow Internet companies to trade,’” added Kerner.

However, it won’t be that simple for the Bank of Israel to issue the national cryptocurrency. First of all, it requires the approval from the Knesset, the national legislator of Israel. Knesset, by the way, has recently considered the means of reducing the use of cash in the country.

“There’s a lot that people need to think about before going through with this reform. We’re looking at the legal, financial, regulatory and money – laundering sides of this,” explained the financial official.

Foreign experience

Currently, national cryptocurrencies exist nowhere in the world. Not even in Sweden, even though this country is one of the most successful stated which are moving away from cash use.

However, several governments have already expressed the interest in creating a state-sponsored digital coin. In particular, such an interest is being developed in Russia and Dubai.

Earlier Russian Minister of Communications and Mass Media Nikolai Nikiforov said that the country would issue a cryptoruble. As he claimed, it was the initiative of Vladimir Putin.

"I confidently declare that we will launch a cryptoruble for one simple reason: if we do not, then in two months our neighbors in the EurAsEC will do it," said Nikiforov.

Meanwhile, in Dubai Emcredit, a subsidiary of Dubai Economy, and UK-based Object Tech Group Ltd, agreed to work on the development and implementation of emCash. This is an encrypted digital currency, which people will be able to use to pay for different government and non-government services in the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates.

Avalanche aims to accelerate subnet adoption with multiverse incentive program
Blockchain network Avalanche announced the launch of Avalanche Multiverse, an incentive program that will accelerate the adoption of subnets that are app-specific...
Binance.US is under investigation from SEC over trading affiliates: Report
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly launched a probe into major crypto exchange Binance's U.S. arm regarding trading firms...
Polygon price risks 50% drop as MATIC paints inverted cup and handle pattern
Polygon (MATIC) has dropped by more than 40% from its record high of $2.92, established on Dec. 27, 2021. But if a classic technical indicator is to be...
Price analysis 1/5: BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL, ADA, XRP, LUNA, DOT, AVAX, DOGE
Bitcoin (BTC) and most major altcoins are stuck in a tight range with bulls buying near the support and bears selling at resistance levels. Usually, such...
Litecoin Falls 13% In Rout
Investing.com - Litecoin was trading at $164.700 by 15:25 (20:25 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Saturday, down 13.04% on the day. It was the largest...
El Salvador’s Bitcoin day: The first of many or a one-off?
On Sept. 7, in a historic first, the small Central American nation of El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender.The true significance of this day for...
Institutional exposure to altcoin products retests all-time high
Institutional demand for altcoin exposure has surged to record levels, with the altcoin market share now representing a record 35% of capital locked in...
Grayscale adds Cardano to Digital Large Cap Fund after rebalancing
In a recent development, Grayscale Investments announced an adjustment to its Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (OTCQX: GDLC) to include Cardano (ADA) as...
Satoshi Nakamoto to be immortalized in bronze near the Steve Jobs statue in Budapest
Bitcoin’s anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto is set to be depicted in a life-size bronze statue in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. According to local...
ECB says digital euro may be needed to combat 'artificial currencies'
The European Central Bank has warned that a CBDC or digital euro may be required to head off the spectre of “artificial currencies” dominating cross-border...
Top 5 cryptocurrencies to watch this week: BTC, MATIC, EOS, XMR, AAVE
Bitcoin (BTC) is struggling to sustain any price level during the current pullback, indicating a lack of demand at higher levels. Does this mean that the...
Price analysis 4/19: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, DOGE, ADA, DOT, LTC, BCH, UNI
During strong uptrends, the best practice is to buy on significant dips as profits are produced when the price quickly rebounds from oversold conditions. ...
Bulgaria Launches One of the First Blockchain Master’s in Europe
As the hype over blockchain does not abate, more industries embrace this tech trend (or plan to do so). The adoption of DLT is sprawling to such spheres...
Ethereum-Related Securities See Suspension From Trading Imposed By SEC
Bitcoin Tracker One as well as Ether Tracker One, two cyber-asset-related products are stopped from being traded. That’s the decision made by the American...
34 Thousand Vulnerabilities Are In Ethereum Smart Contracts
Currently, in the Ethereum blockchain, there are hundreds of thousands of smart contracts that manage wallets, tokens, applications or used to store funds....