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0 التعليقاتDespite Israel’s relatively small capital representation in the crypto space, its presence in the field of blockchain technology is more tangible, The Jerusalem Post reported.
This year, investment in Israeli crypto companies for the first time topped $1 billion. According to data from Start-Up Nation Finder, a business discovery platform provided by nonprofit organization Start-Up Nation Central, funding for crypto-related startups added up to $1.07 billion. Previous Israeli crypto sector’s peak in 2018 raised $206 million; in 2020 – $101 million, respectively.
“We have seen great success and growth with some of our long-term partners in Israel, such as eToro, Simplex, and COTI,” said Itai Elizur, COO & partner at blockchain PR firm MarketAcross, speaking of the accomplishment of Israeli crypto companies.
COTI, an Israeli-developed cryptocurrency platform, is being implemented as a payment processor for the Cardano network, one of the industry’s largest blockchain platforms.
Despite the skyrocket leap from $101 million to $1.07 billion, however, Israel’s cryptocurrency-specific success seems like small potatoes In comparison to global data. As of the end of November, venture capitalists have invested more than $27 billion into crypto companies worldwide, PitchBook’s data read. Thus, Israeli crypto companies represent less than 4% of the total investments poured into the crypt sector this year.
The largest fund raise for an Israeli company was cryptocurrency platform Fireblocks’ $443 million. It is pretty small, compared to the $10 billion by Q1, pulled by crypto-trading platform Bullish Global, the most significant cryptocurrency investment in 2021.
However, despite Israel’s relatively small capital representation in the crypto space, its presence in the field of blockchain technology is more tangible.
“We have seen a rise in non-token-based, deep blockchain solutions from the Israeli market,” noted Elizur, who sees a lot of potential in the technology. “Blockchain seems to be one of the hottest sectors right now.”
Another crypto analyst and veteran trader, Ilan Tennenbaum, said, “It’s a known fact around the world that Israel is a big tech country. The biggest support that Israeli companies have given to the blockchain world is cybersecurity. Because there are billions of dollars transacting on these networks, security is a very, very big issue, and Israeli companies lead the way in that sense.”
As the year comes to a close, there is a certain sense of anticipation regarding the country’s future success in the rapidly expanding field of cryptocurrency and blockchain.
“Looking into the future, I think that blockchain’s going to get bigger, as will all the companies that support the technology,” Tennenbaum suggested. “I hope and believe that Israel will lead that expansion, both in security and other developments.”
Back in July, Israel reported the seizure of cryptocurrency accounts used by the Palestinian Hamas group to raise funds for its armed wing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Benny Gantz, Israeli Defense Minister, ordered security forces to seize the accounts after a joint operation “uncovered a web of electronic wallets” used by Hamas to raise money, the ministry said.
The analysis showed that these digital wallets received more than $7.7 million in different cryptocurrencies, the Times of Israel reported. The crypto-cash has been seized under Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Law since 2016.
