A digital shekel is here: Israel approves its first-ever regulated stablecoin

Israel's Capital Market Authority has granted approval for BILS, the nation's first regulated stablecoin pegged to the shekel. Tel Aviv-based cryptocurrency exchange Bits of Gold received authorization to issue the token after a two-year evaluation and pilot process. BILS was developed in collaboration with the Solana network and crypto custodian Fireblocks, with auditing oversight from EY. This development comes as the stablecoin sector, now exceeding $300 billion, has seen a surge fueled by regulatory regimes in major markets. Concerns about the dominance of U.S. dollar-pegged tokens have prompted other markets to consider onchain payments in their own currencies. The Israeli shekel has shown strength, gaining over 20% against the dollar in the past year, making it a strong candidate for onchain financial systems alongside other leading currencies.

(Source：CoinDesk)