Israel mulls issuing digital currency in response to bitcoin craze

JERUSALEM, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Financial Ministry and the Bank of Israel are considering issuing a digital currency, a possible response to the frenzied cryptocurrency and bitcoin craze, a report from the Jerusalem Post said Sunday.

The Israeli digital shekel would record every transaction by mobile phone and make it more difficult to evade taxation, according to the report.

Israeli central bank, the Bank of Israel, has been examining the possibility of a state-sponsored currency, and it is now up to government as to whether to proceed with it. The digital shekel would be identical in value to the physical shekel in people's wallet.

Digital currency would act similarly to cash, not passing through a bank clearing system, and instead, it changes hands immediately, said the report.

It is unclear where the digital wallet would be located, either in a Bank of Israel account or on people's mobile phone.

State-sponsored digital currencies may be an attempt to compete with decentralized cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, the reported noted. Enditem