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The central bank stressed that no decision has been made whether to issue a CBDC, therefore the design presented should only be considered a preliminary one
Mar 4, 2025, 4:21 p.m. UTC
The Bank of Israel has put forward a possible design for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) should the decision be made to introduce one in the future.
The central bank described the proposed digital shekel (DS) as a "multipurpose CBDC", to wit it would be for both retail and wholesale use, in a paper published on Tuesday.
"The DS will be a multipurpose digital currency that will address both the retail needs of end users such as households and businesses as well as the wholesale needs of financial entities," the paper said.
The Bank of Israel would therefore be providing a digital equivalent to cash while also upgrading its existing settlement system that financial institutions already use, adding "smart" functionality, such as composability and programmability.
The central bank also stressed that no decision has been made whether to issue a CBDC. Therefore, the design presented by the paper should only be considered a preliminary one.
The central banks of almost all the developed economies across the world have at least been exploring the possibility of issuing a CBDC for several years.
While their proponents argue they are a tool for financial inclusion and a means of future-proofing fiat currencies against the decline in cash usage, they are also criticized by those who see them as a Trojan horse for reinforcing state control over the use of money.
Jamie Crawley
Jamie joined CoinDesk as a news reporter in February 2021 after writing widely about crypto and blockchain for two years in other roles. Away from crypto, Jamie runs a lot and loves all things sport. He holds small amounts of BTC, ETH, ADA and LTC.
