Israel to issue govt bonds on blockchain platform for first time

JERUSALEM: Israel will issue government bonds on a blockchain platform for the first time, the Ministry of Finance and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) have said in a joint statement.

The pilot issuance of digital government bonds will be conducted by the digital-asset technology companies VMware and Fireblocks, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the statement. As part of the issuance, leading international and local banks will participate in a live test, during which they will be connected to a dedicated blockchain system.

The new platform for the trading and clearing of digital assets, based on the innovative technologies of blockchain, smart contracts, and tokenization, will be developed by TASE and selected technology vendors. The introduction of the new project is motivated by the developments in the financial markets in recent years, the statement said.