Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country is considering blockchain as one option for circumventing potential economic and banking sanctions, and that he has asked for a plan to be prepared.
According to The Block, Netanyahu said in an interview aired Friday on Israel’s Channel 10 that the country should prepare for the possibility of economic sanctions. The prime minister said banking restrictions could also be imposed and argued that, in such a situation, the economy should be structured to overcome those obstacles.
Blockchain Cited as One Alternative
According to a translation of the Hebrew transcript of the interview, Netanyahu said he was also working on currencies that could help circumvent sanctions. When host Roy Katz asked whether he saw blockchain as an alternative to economic sanctions, he answered yes and said he had already asked for a plan to be prepared.
Netanyahu did not say which institution would conduct the work or which blockchain networks or currencies would be considered. He also did not provide a timeline for implementation.
Calls for Preparation for U.S. Aid Ending, Too
The prime minister said Israel should also prepare for the possibility that U.S. military aid could one day end. He emphasized that the tens of billions of dollars in support he said the country receives would not continue indefinitely, and argued that Israel should increase its capacity to produce its own ammunition and weapons.
Netanyahu said he had allocated an additional 400 billion shekels, about $129 billion, to the defense budget over the coming years. He also called for preparations for the possibility of a less favorable political climate for Israel in the United States after Donald Trump leaves office.
Not investment advice.