Benjamin Netanyahu raised an idea this week. Israel's prime minister told Channel 10 he wants crypto ready, in case sanctions hit the country's banks14. The Bank of Israel answered fast. About 27 hours later, the central bank objected in public. "Cryptocurrencies cannot serve as a means to circumvent sanctions," the bank said2. Netanyahu made the remark four days before Israel's Oct. 27 election3.
What Netanyahu Told Channel 10
Channel 10 asked Netanyahu about sanctions risk on Oct. 23, 2026. He answered fast. "Of course I'm concerned," he said1. Banking sanctions worried him most, because banks outside Israel follow rules set by other governments. "You have to understand that there could be banking sanctions," Netanyahu said.
The host pressed him on a backup plan. He named blockchain. "One of them, certainly," Netanyahu answered. “And I've already asked for a plan to be prepared for it,” he added1. He skipped naming a team or a date.
Netanyahu tied the sanctions risk to American aid in the same interview. “If you think we'll continue receiving what I secured twice, tens of billions of dollars in American assistance for the defense budget, get organized and get used to it: it won't happen, because America has changed,” he said1. The warning explains why he wants a backup ready. Netanyahu left out what that backup would run on.
Reporters have found zero documents naming a currency or a network behind the plan. Netanyahu gave the interview four days before Israel's Oct. 27, 2026 vote for its next government34. Watcher.Guru's post about the remark spread within hours. The post drew 5,582 likes and 360 replies and quote posts by X's own count, as of 22:10 UTC on Oct. 24, 20268.
Watcher.Guru's Post on Netanyahu's Plan Drew 5,582 Likes by Oct. 24, 2026
Engagement on the X post that broke the story, by X's own count as of 22:10 UTC Oct. 24, 2026
- Likes: 5,582
- Replies & quotes: 360
Source: X [8].
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Likes | 5,582 |
| Replies & quotes | 360 |
Both sides, in their own words
Does a leader's own bank get the final word on how a country meets sanctions?
“We have other means; crypto is one of them — it is not the sole method, and it is not certain that it will actually be used”
“The prime minister's remarks make it sound as though blockchain is the solution that will allow Israel to prepare for sanctions. It is important to be clear: Blockchain is not a way to circumvent sanctions”
The Bank Answers in Under 28 Hours
Israel's central bank moved fast on Oct. 24. Its statement landed about 27 hours after Netanyahu's Channel 10 remarks, Globes reported2. The bank's words left little room for a second reading. "Cryptocurrencies cannot serve as a means to circumvent sanctions," the statement said.
Responsibility came next in that same statement. “The right course for the Israeli economy is to maintain economic relations with our primary trading partners and to focus on preventing sanctions and their negative impact on the economy. This is the responsibility of the political leadership, and it should act upon it,” the bank said2.
Israel's Central Bank Answered Netanyahu in About 27 Hours, Oct. 24, 2026
Three dated steps from Netanyahu's Channel 10 remark to Israel's Oct. 27, 2026 election
Sources: Crypto Briefing [1]; Globes [2]; Wikipedia [3].
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Oct. 23, 2026 | Netanyahu's Channel 10 remark |
| Oct. 24, 2026 | Bank of Israel's rebuke |
| Oct. 27, 2026 | Israel's election |
Netanyahu answered the same evening, on Channel 14. He kept the idea alive, calling crypto one option among several. Then he addressed the bank directly. “I hear the objections and take them into account. I thank the Bank of Israel for its advice. I listen, but I do what I think is right,” Netanyahu said6.
Why a Ledger Still Needs a Bank
Yair Avidan ran bank supervision at the Bank of Israel until recently. His read on the plan carries weight. “The prime minister's remarks make it sound as though blockchain is the solution that will allow Israel to prepare for sanctions. It is important to be clear: Blockchain is not a way to circumvent sanctions,” Avidan said7.
His reasoning rests on one fact about how blockchain payments actually move money. “A blockchain network does not operate unilaterally. For it to facilitate payments, it requires the cooperation and consent of banks, payment service providers and trading partners, as well as liquidity and connections to other systems,” Avidan said7. A sanctioned transaction still needs a willing bank on the far end. Moving it onto a ledger changes the paperwork. The law stays exactly where it was.
Avidan did grant one use for the technology. “Blockchain may be useful in a different area: preparing for financial resilience and operational continuity if payment infrastructure is damaged or disrupted during a crisis,” he said7. That use keeps payments running during an outage. A sanctions order still stands either way.
Yarom Ariav once ran Israel's Finance Ministry. He framed the political risk in plain terms. “The prime minister's latest remarks about using cryptocurrencies as a means of dealing with economic sanctions are a resounding warning sign,” Ariav said7. He went further on the economic stakes. “This reckless statement raises serious questions about the stability of the financial system, could shake the capital market, lead to a credit rating downgrade and bring us closer to a deep crisis,” Ariav said.
Tomer Sharoni runs Adresable, a payments firm. He made the same point in fewer words. “Changing the means of payment does not turn a prohibited transaction into a permitted one,” Sharoni said6.
An Election Four Days Away
Israel votes on Oct. 27, 2026, four days after Netanyahu's remark aired34. The outgoing Knesset ran its full four-year term. Wikipedia's election page calls it the first Knesset since 1988 to serve out that full term. Coalition fights had ended every term before it early.
Opposition leaders used the moment fast. Gadi Eisenkot called the plan a threat to the country's security. “The BibiCoin vision is a threat to national security. After dismantling Israeli society and weakening the IDF, Netanyahu targets economic dismantling,” Eisenkot said5.
Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman both answered within the same news cycle. Bennett said he felt "horrified to hear Netanyahu's defeatist and gloomy vision" of an isolated Israel5. Liberman made a technical point of his own. Blockchain transactions stay traceable, he said, and investigators already know how to flag wallets tied to sanctioned groups. Yair Golan called the Channel 10 appearance "detached and hysterical"4.
The Case For, and the Case Against
Netanyahu needs a reader to accept one premise. Sanctions could hit Israel's banks, so the country needs a backup payment route ready now. His own words carry that case. “We have other means; crypto is one of them — it is not the sole method, and it is not certain that it will actually be used,” he told Channel 142. By his account, a plan in hand costs little and buys insurance against a real risk.
Avidan needs a reader to separate the ledger from the law. His case rests on how a cross-border payment actually clears, through banks and payment firms a transaction still passes7. By his account, a sanctioned deal stays blocked either way, through a bank wire or a blockchain. The parties on both ends still answer to the law.
Each side needs something different to hold. Netanyahu needs voters to read "a plan" as prudent planning, ahead of Israel's Oct. 27, 2026 vote on whether to keep him in office. Avidan needs them to read it as a technical dead end dressed up as a solution. The Bank of Israel's statement sided with Avidan's reading. Voters get the next word on Oct. 27.
By the numbers
- About 27 hours passed between Netanyahu's Channel 10 remarks and the Bank of Israel's statement, Globes reported2.
- Netanyahu gave the interview four days before Israel's Oct. 27, 2026 election34.
- Watcher.Guru's post about the plan drew 5,582 likes and 360 replies and quote posts, as of 22:10 UTC on Oct. 24, 2026, by X's own count8.
- Eight named Israeli officials, economists or opposition leaders criticized the plan within a day, the Times of Israel and Ynetnews reported567.
- Netanyahu said he had twice secured "tens of billions of dollars" in American defense aid, a figure he warned could end1.
- The outgoing Knesset finished a full four-year term, the first to do so since 1988, Wikipedia's election page says3.
What to watch
Watch whether Netanyahu names a team to build this plan. Reporters have turned up zero names so far. Israel's Oct. 27 election will show whether voters rewarded or punished the remark. A second Bank of Israel statement would sharpen the split, since Netanyahu kept the idea alive even after the first one.
Sources
- John Chen, "Netanyahu seeks blockchain plan to counter potential financial sanctions," Crypto Briefing, Oct. 23, 2026, https://cryptobriefing.com/netanyahu-blockchain-plan-counter-sanctions/
- "BoI slams Netanyahu's crypto plan for evading sanctions," Globes, Oct. 24, 2026, https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-BoI-slams-Netanyahus-crypto-plan-for-evading-sanctions-1001560620
- Wikipedia, "2026 Israeli legislative election," Wikipedia, retrieved Oct. 24, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Israeli_legislative_election
- ToI Staff, "Netanyahu: Israel should ready for global sanctions, use blockchain to circumvent them," The Times of Israel, Oct. 23, 2026, https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-israel-should-ready-for-global-sanctions-use-blockchain-to-circumvent-them/
- ToI Staff and Lazar Berman, "Bank of Israel, opposition heads pan PM's proposal to use crypto to evade sanctions," The Times of Israel, Oct. 24, 2026, https://www.timesofisrael.com/bank-of-israel-opposition-heads-pan-pms-proposal-to-use-crypto-to-evade-sanctions
- Gad Lior, "Bank of Israel rejects Netanyahu's crypto plan: 'Digital currencies cannot bypass sanctions'," Ynetnews, Oct. 24, 2026, https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/byqyxv93gl
- Gad Lior, "'Dangerous and irresponsible': Economists warn Netanyahu's crypto plan could isolate Israel," Ynetnews, Oct. 24, 2026, https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/hkcxwaknml
- Watcher.Guru, post on X, Oct. 23, 2026, https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/2113671451903414292