The Israeli government is considering a new law that substantially reduces the amount of cash needed to keep its economy going, which includes the creation of a digital shekel that has the same value of its current currency (1 shekel = 0.29 $) .
In an article for a local newspaper, the interest of the Central Bank of Israel in creating digital currencies to diminish the circulation of cash is pointed out and cites an extensive study published in September of this year by the Swedish central bank, on the possibility of creating the e-krona with the same value of the Swedish crown.
Although there is no mention of a new cryptocurrency but of a digital shekel, it is clear that transfers and payments with the new currency would be made directly between two citizens, without the intervention of third parties; in contrast to conventional transfers and payments that must be made through banking institutions.
The movements of electronic money need banking entities that function as intermediaries to be made, while the cash passes from the buyer's wallet to the cash register of the seller without control of the banks. This transaction between peers is very similar to the exchange of digital currencies, only that what changes hands is a code that signals the passage of money from one virtual wallet to another.
Two weeks ago, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared that the operation of the banks could become obsolete against the bitcoin by virtue of its remarkable growth during the year.
OPPOSING PERSPECTIVES
Faced with Netanyahu's favorable views on bitcoin and the Ministry of Finance's initiatives to create digital currencies, the regulator of the financial market in Israel today has offered a completely opposite point of view. The president of the Israel Securities Authority (ISA), Shmuel Hauser, announced today, December 25, that he will propose legislation to prevent companies based on cryptocurrencies from operating on the Israeli stock exchange (TASE).
"If we have the request to enter TASE of a company whose main business is digital currencies, we will not allow it. If it is already operating in the stock market, it will be suspended. "It was Hauser's words referring to his proposal, which will be presented next week to the board of directors of that organization. If approved, it will undergo a public consultation before becoming a modification of the law that regulates the TASE.
This announcement is made public curiously after the Israeli stock market witnessed the abrupt growth by several companies whose value multiplied after indicating intentions to link to the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem.
The shares of companies such as Apollo Power, Apply Advance Mobile Technologies and Natural Resource Holdings, recently experienced an epic and rapid increase in their value by announcing that they would join initiatives related to the development of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency mining. The most important thing is that all these companies operate in the TASE, so the value of their shares could be affected if the proposal mentioned by the financial authority is approved.
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