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Israeli regulators have approved the launch of BILS, a shekel-pegged stablecoin issued by local virtual exchange Bits of Gold, marking one of the first stablecoins directly linked to the Israeli currency.
The Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority granted approval in a notice issued on Monday, following a two-year pilot program on the Solana blockchain. The approval places BILS among the earliest shekel-pegged stablecoins to receive authorization in Israel.
Under the announcement, BILS reserve assets will be kept in Israel through designated and separate local accounts. The structure is intended to support oversight as Israel develops rules for digital assets and stablecoin activity.
The approval aligns with a wider effort by the Israel Tax Authority and the Finance Ministry to regulate crypto activity. That initiative includes allowing selected stablecoin operations under local supervision.
Bits of Gold founder and CEO Youval Rouach said the stablecoin is designed to connect the Israeli shekel with blockchain-based financial services.
“BILS creates a direct bridge between the Israeli shekel and the global digital assets economy, enabling real-time payments, on-chain trading and programmable financial applications based on a regulated local currency,” Rouach said.
The launch comes as stablecoin usage continues to expand globally. As of press time, the stablecoin market was valued at more than $320 billion, with U.S. dollar-pegged tokens such as Tether’s USDT leading the sector.
Israel’s approval also arrives while other jurisdictions continue to debate stablecoin rules. In the United States, lawmakers are discussing a digital asset market structure bill that covers stablecoin yield, tokenized equities, and ethics concerns related to President Donald Trump’s crypto links. The bill has remained stalled in the U.S. Senate since July 2025 and still requires a markup from the Senate Banking Committee before it can move toward a possible vote.
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