Bank of Israel Pushes Back on Netanyahu’s Crypto Plan to Dodge Sanctions

Israel’s central bank has publicly criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s idea of using a blockchain based plan to get around possible banking sanctions according to Financial Times report. The bank called the approach impractical and said crypto cannot serve as a route around such penalties. In its view, the better path for the economy is to keep strong ties with Israel’s main trading partners and focus on stopping sanctions before they happen. It added that a country cannot function in the global economy using cryptocurrencies alone, and that preventing sanctions is a matter for political leaders, who should act on it.

What Netanyahu Said on Channel 10

Netanyahu spoke to Channel 10 on Friday, only days before the election, and admitted that banking sanctions are possible. He said he had asked for a plan built on blockchain technology that could help the country work around them. In the same interview, he warned that American military assistance will eventually come to an end.

Opposition Leaders Attack the Crypto Proposal

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the remarks amount to an admission that another term for this government would cost Israel US military aid and bring sanctions that badly hurt the economy. He warned that prices would soar and the damage would be permanent, and argued that changing the government could protect American support and avoid sanctions. Gadi Eisenkot mocked the idea as the “BibiCoin vision” and called it a threat to national security. He said it would cut Israel off from global markets and harm its technology and business sectors.