Breaking free from Israeli grip with Palestine crypto

The Palestine government has plans to introduce their own cryptocurrency in order to become less dependent on Israel. Currently Palestine is using the shekel as their currency, which is the national currency over their conflicting neighbor Israel. This was reported by the Turkish press agency Anadolu.

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh believes that a cryptocurrency will enable his country to overcome restrictions in the territory. Unfortunately there’s no detailed plan yet. The PM did not provide any details or an introduction date.

In Palestine there are multiple currencies being used. Even though dollars and euros are part of their economy, it’s the Israeli shekel that’s dominating the market. This is mainly the case because it become the official currency following a 1994 political deal.

Israel has implemented laws to which all companies paying in shekel need to comply. Companies are no longer allowed to do deals in cash when the amount exceeds 11.000 NIS (approximately $3100). This way Israel wants to battle money laundering and tax evasion. As a result Palestine banks have 4 billion NIS surplus in their vaults, which basically causes devaluation of the shekel in Palestine.

Shtayyeh doesn’t want this type of dependency on Israel and their shekel. Therefore he wants to introduce a cryptocurrency that would make it easier for Palestine businesses to do business globally. And the idea isn’t new. Two years ago Palestine announced it would introduce a cryptocurrency within five years. It would be called the Palestine Pound, based on the old currency that was part of the country between 1927 and 1952.

Originally published at NEDEROB.