Netanyahu orders a blockchain plan to prepare for sanctions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has asked for a plan that uses blockchain technology to help Israel's economy cope with possible international sanctions, including restrictions on its banks. He made the comments in an interview broadcast on Friday by Israel's Channel 10, The Block reported, citing a translation of the Hebrew transcript.

What he said

"We need to understand that there could be sanctions, including banking sanctions. You need to prepare an economy that can bypass them," Netanyahu said, adding that "you know about the currencies that bypass this" and that he was working on it.

Asked by interviewer Roy Katz whether blockchain was one alternative for dealing with sanctions, he replied: "One of them, certainly. I have already asked for a plan to be prepared for that."

What we don't know

The remarks were short on detail. Netanyahu did not say:

• who is preparing the plan (the central bank, the finance ministry or another body);
• which blockchain, cryptocurrency or stablecoin model it might rely on;
• when anything could be put in place.

The wider context

The interview focused largely on security. Netanyahu warned that US military aid "is only a matter of time" before it ends and said Israel must be able to manufacture its own weapons and ammunition. He said he had allocated an extra 400 billion shekels, about $129 billion, to defence over the coming years, and that Israel should prepare for a less friendly US administration after President Donald Trump leaves office.

Using crypto to work around sanctions is not new. Russia and Iran have both explored it, and regulators watch such flows closely. But a public statement from the leader of a close US ally is unusual. It also lands on the same day as China's 2030 target for a national blockchain network, which shows how governments increasingly treat the technology as financial infrastructure rather than just a market for tokens. If you want the basics first, read our explainer on what a blockchain is.

Any real plan would face hard limits: most large stablecoins are issued by US-regulated companies that can freeze addresses, and public ledgers make transfers traceable. Israel's Bank of Israel has also been working on a digital shekel, a central bank digital currency, for several years.