Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has asked for a plan involving blockchain to prepare for possible economic sanctions, including banking restrictions. He did not say who would prepare it, which blockchain it might use, or when it could be implemented.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has asked for a plan involving blockchain to help the country prepare for possible economic sanctions, including banking restrictions. The remarks came in an interview broadcast Friday on Israel's Channel 10, according to The Block's translation of the Hebrew transcript.
Netanyahu says an economy must be able to bypass sanctions
In the interview, Netanyahu said there could be sanctions, including banking sanctions: "You need to prepare an economy that can bypass them". Interviewer Roy Katz then asked whether Netanyahu saw blockchain as an alternative for dealing with such sanctions. Netanyahu replied that it was one of them and that he had already asked for a plan to be prepared.
The details remain open. Netanyahu did not say who would prepare the plan, which blockchain or currencies it might involve, or when it could be implemented. The Defiant noted that the remarks described a request to prepare a plan, not the launch of a payment system.
Aid and defense spending in the same interview
Israel also needs to prepare for an eventual end to U.S. military assistance, Netanyahu said. He added that he had allocated an additional 400 billion shekels, or around $129 billion, to the defense budget over the coming years.
UK sanctions powers and crypto
In an Oct. 19 statement, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband warned businesses against bidding for construction in the E1 settlement project in the West Bank. The Defiant said those measures concern settlement activity, while Netanyahu's remarks addressed preparations for possible banking sanctions more broadly.
Britain's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in January that using cryptoassets to evade sanctions is treated no differently from exploiting traditional currencies.
Sources: The Block, The Defiant
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