Crypto Forum Launches Campaign Demanding Major Digital Asset Reform for Knesset Elections
The Israel Crypto, Blockchain, and Web3 Companies Forum launched 'Israel Chooses Crypto' to demand digital asset reform, citing a KPMG study showing 120 billion shekels in potential economic growth.
As the elections for the 26th Knesset approach, the political battleground is shifting to social networks with an economic promise that is hard to ignore. The Israel Crypto, Blockchain, and Web3 Companies Forum launched the "Israel Chooses Crypto" campaign this week, a broad public initiative designed to force politicians from across the political spectrum to commit to comprehensive reform in the digital asset market.
At the heart of the project is a digital platform consolidating data on 156 candidates from 13 parties. The website allows every citizen to locate their candidate, check their position on the issue, and send them a pre-prepared post on X with a single click. The demand is clear: integrating crypto reform into coalition agreements, opening the gates of banks to digital funds, and establishing fair tax regulations. The inspiration for the move came from the Stand With Crypto movement, which exerted similar pressure during the United States elections.
Economic Impact and Regulatory Challenges
The numbers behind the campaign are dramatic. According to a KPMG research study, market regulation could inject approximately 120 billion shekels into the Israeli economy by 2035 and generate around 70,000 new jobs. Conversely, regulatory delays are exacting a heavy toll: a survey reveals that about a third of local startups in the sector are considering or have already decided to relocate their operations abroad.
"One and a half million Israelis hold digital coins," emphasized the forum's CEO, Nir Hirschman, summarizing the current absurdity: "While the state is looking for sources of income to cover the deficit, 120 billion shekels are lying on the floor, and no one is bending down to pick them up."
Despite the industry's general frustration with regulators, a single bright spot was recently recorded. Last April, the Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority granted a permanent financial asset service license to the crypto investment house "Proxybit", part of the Proxima Group. This is a highly unusual event in the local landscape, being the first license of its kind issued in over two years and one of the few ever granted in Israel. Now, the industry is demanding broad reform that will turn the exception into a regulated policy.
