Netanyahu Says Israel Should Prepare Crypto Route Around Possible Sanctions
Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel should prepare to use cryptocurrency to get around possible economic sanctions, in an interview with Israel's Channel 10 on Friday, two days before general elections.
Sanctions are restrictions, such as limits on trade or on access to banks, that one country or group of countries places on another. Speaking about blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, Netanyahu said: "We need to prepare ways to evade banking sanctions through an alternative economic system." He clarified that he was referring to blockchain-based cryptocurrencies that could bypass banking sanctions. He described them as a solution to mounting sanctions that could keep Israel out of the international financial system.
Israel's banking system has not yet been targeted by sanctions. Pressure on Israel has been growing elsewhere, however. In September 2026, at least 12 major economies, including the United Kingdom, pledged coordinated measures against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian territory Israel has controlled since 1967. The European Union has sanctioned individuals and groups linked to settlements. Spain and Ireland have introduced restrictions on settlement goods, and the Netherlands brought a broader ban on their import, purchase and sale into force in September.
Netanyahu also warned that Israel must prepare to finance its own military as support from Washington declines. He said "America has changed," and that US financing for Israel's military will end. He told Israelis to prepare for a less favourable White House after Donald Trump's term ends in two years.
The Bank of Israel, the country's central bank, rejected the cryptocurrency plan on Saturday. It said cryptocurrencies cannot serve as a route to bypass sanctions. A forum of top economists joined the central bank in opposing the proposal, and expressed "grave concern and anxiety" about it. A separate statement signed by 109 economists, businesspeople and former officials called the plan "bizarre," and said sanctions would cause Israel serious and lasting damage.
Israeli opposition parties said the crypto plan would lead to disaster and to greater international isolation for Israel.
