Netanyahu Asks for a Blockchain Plan to Counter Possible Sanctions

Asked on Israeli television whether blockchain could help the country withstand financial sanctions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that it was one option and that he had already asked for a plan. The concern, as he framed it, includes possible restrictions on Israel's banking system. He made the remarks in an interview on Israel's Channel 10, video of which is available on YouTube.

Interviewer Roy Katz asked whether Netanyahu saw blockchain as an alternative for dealing with sanctions. His answer was brief:

"One of them, certainly. I have already asked for a plan to be prepared for that."

Benjamin Netanyahu

He presented the request as contingency planning rather than policy. In one translation of his Hebrew remarks, he said, "We need to understand that there could be sanctions, including banking sanctions. You need to prepare an economy that can bypass them." Another translation renders the line as "You have to understand that there could be banking sanctions," a reminder that every English version here is a rendering of spoken Hebrew.

What is missing

Netanyahu gave no detail on who would prepare the plan, which blockchain or currencies it might involve, or when it could be implemented, so its substance remains unclear. Blockchain networks can move value outside traditional banking infrastructure, but that does not automatically remove sanctions compliance requirements or the restrictions placed on financial institutions. The practical reach of any such plan therefore depends on specifics he did not offer.

Wider warning on US aid

The blockchain comment sat inside a broader argument about self-reliance. Netanyahu said US military aid will eventually end, adding, "It's only a matter of time," and that Israel must build its own capacity to manufacture ammunition and weapons. He also said he had allocated an additional 400 billion shekels, around $129 billion, to the defense budget over the coming years.

On the aid itself, he was blunt:

"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."

Benjamin Netanyahu

He added that Israel should prepare for a less favorable US political environment after President Donald Trump leaves office.

Context

Israel has some prior digital-currency groundwork. In 2025 the country unveiled a preliminary "Digital Shekel" central bank digital currency design, and it has not revealed further plans since. Elsewhere, Iran and Russia have used crypto assets to bypass banking sanctions and for trade.

Whether the requested plan builds on the Digital Shekel work, relies on existing public chains, or is something else entirely was not addressed. For now, the notable part is less the technology than the signal: a sitting prime minister publicly naming blockchain as one tool in a sanctions-resilience strategy.