Today the Bank of Israel published a preliminary design document for the digital shekel, its central bank digital currency (CBDC). While no decision has been made to go ahead, the central bank previously stated that if Europe proceeds with a CBDC, it is more likely to move forward. However, it will require some regulatory changes. The design document, even though it’s 136 pages, is quite high level, so at this stage it is technology-agnostic.
Six motivations for a potential digital shekel were outlined. The central bank has previously complained about the lack of competitiveness of banks, so competition is a key driver. Other purposes include:
Many CBDCs share common features, so we’ll focus on the ones that are a little different.
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