The deputy governor of the Bank of Israel recently joined the list of individuals who have expressed distress over Bitcoin [BTC].
Bitcoin has received backlash over the years particularly from authorities across the globe. Despite its impeccable growth over the years, BTC has been subject to resentment. While the asset grows to new heights, its volatile nature seems to be holding several from flocking into the ecosystem. Speaking about the same, Israel’s deputy governor, Andrew Abir, stated,
“What we are talking about is a payment system. Bitcoin is not a payment system, and it is not a currency. In the best situation, it is a financial asset, and in the worst case, it is a pyramid scam.”
While he believes that BTC was a “pyramid scam,” Israel’s central bank digital currency [CBDC], the digital shekel has been making progress in the country.
Israel central bank’s governor talks CBDC
China has been speeding up its process of rolling out a CBDC, which has further insinuated a sense of fear into other countries. Israel revealed that was getting on to the CBDC wagon. At a recent conference of the Fair Value Forum of IDC Herzliya, the deputy governor noted his take on the digital shekel.
Noting that the pilot for the digital shekel was already conducted, Abir pointed out that he wasn’t very optimistic about the launch of a CBDC. The country had been rather mum about its interest in issuing a CBDC, however, the latest information notes point out the advancements it Israeli central bank has made in the same. Not so thrilled, Abir, elaborated on the same and said,
“I had previously estimated that the chance of having a CBDC within five years is 20%. My estimate has increased a bit in the last year, mainly because other countries are advancing with it too, but still there is less than a 50% chance.”
The emergence of CBDC has led to many believing that these digital assets could overpower the existing financial system, Abir, however, suggested that Israel’s central bank would continue to have a pertinent role irrespective of the launch of the digital shekel.
