The top economist in Israel has provided officials with a list of suggestions on how to improve the country’s laws governing digital assets to ensure increased usage of cryptocurrencies.
Shira Greenberg, the chief economist at the Ministry of Finance, advocated for a more thorough regulatory framework that would bring trading platforms and cryptocurrency issuers into compliance, in a 109-page report delivered to the Minister of Finance on Nov. 28. It is expected that said regulatory proposal would increase the authority granted to its financial regulators.
According to her, Israel could strengthen investor safety and predictability by requiring cryptocurrency issuers and trading platforms to get tougher licenses and by guaranteeing that monies derived from digital assets are kept more secure.
Greenberg also proposed for the Israel Securities Authority to be given more authority, saying that such authority is necessary to determine if a digital asset is subject to Israeli securities regulations, and to keep track of payment service providers’ activities in the cryptocurrency industry.
Greenberg mentioned the necessity for particular stablecoin issuer licenses and oversight requirements, as well as suggested to create an inter-ministerial commission that will review and manage blockchain-based decentralized autonomous (DAOs) entities in terms of appropriate legislation. She emphasized that it is important that politicians and policymakers create legislation pertaining to digital assets, while keeping in mind the concept of technological neutrality.
According to Israel’s Minister of Finance, Avigdor Lieberman, the said report, “constitutes the most comprehensive and up-to-date report currently available on this issue for government use,” and he anticipates that it “will serve as a basis for future decisions and legislation” on issues relating to digital assets in the coming months.
The recommendations contained in the report if ever implemented, is expected to accelerate crypto adoption in the country. Although Israel has been described as a technologically advanced, the country has not yet demonstrated a strong interest in cryptocurrencies, placing 111th out of 146 nations in a recent global cryptocurrency adoption index conducted by Chainalysis, a blockchain data platform.
