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Israel Moves to Tighten Stablecoin Oversight as 2026 Digital Shekel Roadmap Debuts

Officials cite trillion‑dollar monthly flows alongside issuer concentration as reasons for stricter rules.

Overview

  • Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron said stablecoins can no longer be treated as marginal and framed them as a systemic payments issue.
  • He set out regulatory pillars for private issuers that include full 1:1 reserve backing, liquid reserve assets, and scalable supervision.
  • Officials pointed to scale metrics of a market capitalization above $300 billion and more than $2 trillion in monthly transactions, comparing the sector to a mid‑sized global bank.
  • Policymakers flagged concentration risk, noting roughly 99% of activity is tied to Tether and Circle, which could amplify shocks if an issuer is disrupted.
  • Yoav Soffer unveiled a digital‑shekel roadmap targeting 2026 with official recommendations due by year‑end, describing the CBDC as “central bank money for everything.”