Israel's central bank is monitoring scenarios – including whether stablecoins are widely used – that it says could influence whether it will issue a digital shekel (SHAKED).
The Bank of Israel's steering committee on the potential issuance of a digital shekel made clear in a Monday report that it hasn't decided whether to issue a central bank digital currency, or CBDC.
The 21-page paper noted that although 90% of the world's central banks are examining CBDCs, only a small number have issued one.
Earlier, the central banks of Israel, Norway and Sweden teamed up with the Bank for International Settlements to complete a study of how CBDCs can be used for international retail and remittance payments.
The Bank of Israel will see if the U.S. or the European Union issues a CBDC and will consider a decline in the use of cash, the use of stablecoins, competition in the domestic payment system and technological developments in payments systems.
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"The Bank of Israel must be prepared to advance the issuance of a digital shekel, if the variables listed above support it," the announcement said.