Israel’s Stock Exchange Unveils Plans for Digital Assets Platform as Part of Tech Push

Israel’s stock exchange unveiled plans to develop a crypto trading platform, it said in a press release. The move comes as a part of Israels broader five-year strategy to tackle the opportunities presented by the technological revolution in global capital markets, TASE said in a statement.

Israel Looking to Tackle the Technological Revolution Through a 5-Year Strategic Plan

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) plans to launch a digital assets trading platform as a part of its newly-announced 5-year strategy. Developing a crypto trading platform is just one goal of TASEs new strategic plan as the crypto bourse aims to advance the implementation of innovative technologies. TASE intends to put the strategy into force in 2023.

“We see in the next five years a critical window of opportunity for the integration of the Israeli Stock Exchange in the technological revolution that the world’s capital markets are going through.”

– Itai Ben-Zeev, CEO of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE).

Through the plan, TASE aims to create a blockchain-powered platform that integrates distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), as well as tokenization of digital assets of various types and smart contracts.

The aim of the new strategy is to reinforce the exchanges international profile. Additionally, TASE said that new services and cooperation could also include the buyout of assets in international exchanges.

Israels move emphasizes the potential of blockchain technology and how it can enhance traditional finance, said CryptoJungles Ben Samocha. He added that flaws of our current systems must be fixed with transparency, digitalization, and faster settlements. Every traditional firm, public or private, will now have to better understand the impact of blockchain technology on their business models,” Samocha added.

Crypto Adoption Picks up Steam as Global Jurisdictions Tap Into Blockchain

With the new strategic plan, Israel joins other global jurisdictions that seek to implement innovative technologies into the current market infrastructure. In September, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) teamed up with Israel, Norway, and Sweden to analyze the role of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in international payments.

Israel’s 5-year plan has been announced more than two years after the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) established a committee to research and promote digital markets throughout the country. The committee said the use of DLT could potentially advance the local capital market.

More recently, South Korea announced plans to launch blockchain-based digital IDs in 2024, which would replace current ID cards used by Korean citizens. The digital-government bureau said new IDs should cover 45 million South Koreans within the following two years of adoption.

Do you think other global stock exchanges are likely to make similar moves and implement blockchain technology in the future? Let us know in the comments below.

About the author

Tim Fries is the co-founder of The Tokenist. He has a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate on the investment team at RW Baird’s US Private Equity division, and is also the co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.