Netanyahu floated crypto workaround as Israel weighs sanctions risk
Why it matters: Fears of banking sanctions have grown after 12 countries led by Britain targeted West Bank settlement financing.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is examining cryptocurrency as a way to keep money moving if Israel faces banking sanctions, injecting a new economic fault line into the campaign before the Oct. 27 election. In a Channel 10 interview, Netanyahu said Israel must prepare alternative systems that could bypass restrictions on the banking sector and affirmed he was referring to crypto. Opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman argued the idea would push Israel toward the kind of financial isolation seen in Iran, Russia and Venezuela. The debate follows coordinated steps in September by 12 countries led by Britain against West Bank settlements and related financing, raising concerns that foreign banks could cut correspondent ties with Israeli lenders.