Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has asked for a plan built on blockchain technology to help Israel prepare for possible economic sanctions, including restrictions on the country's banking system. He confirmed the request in an interview broadcast Friday on Israel's Channel 10, with his remarks reported using a translation of the Hebrew transcript.

"We need to understand that there could be sanctions, including banking sanctions," Netanyahu said. "You need to prepare an economy that can bypass them."

He added that he was familiar with "the currencies that bypass this" and said he was working on that as well, noting that other measures were also under way.

Interviewer Roy Katz then asked whether Netanyahu saw blockchain as an alternative for dealing with sanctions. Netanyahu answered that it was "one of them, certainly," and said he had already asked for a plan to be prepared.

🇮🇱 JUST IN: Israel's Prime Minister is considering crypto to get around possible banking sanctions. Netanyahu said Israel must prepare an economy that can bypass banking sanctions, and that he's working on currencies that get around them. On blockchain, he said: "One of them,… pic.twitter.com/srlMsgRE8L — Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) October 24, 2026

Banking sanctions typically work by cutting a country's banks off from correspondent relationships with foreign banks, the channels through which cross-border payments clear. Blockchain networks settle transfers between wallets without those banking intermediaries, a property that keeps them part of sanctions-policy discussions.

What Netanyahu Did Not Say

Netanyahu gave few details about the proposed plan. He did not say who would prepare it, which blockchain or currencies it would use, or when it could be put in place. It is also unclear whether the effort would involve existing cryptocurrencies or a new digital currency. Any specifics would have to come from follow-up announcements by Israeli authorities.

Warning on U.S. Military Aid

Netanyahu also spoke about Israel's reliance on the United States. He said he had secured tens of billions of dollars in military aid, but warned that the support would not last forever.

"It's only a matter of time," he said.

He said Israel must build its military strength and also manufacture its own ammunition and weapons. He said he had added 400 billion shekels, or about $129 billion, to the defense budget over the coming years.

Netanyahu also said Israel should prepare for a less favorable political climate in the United States after President Donald Trump leaves office. He called Trump the friendliest president Israel has had.

How Other Countries Use Crypto

Other governments already use blockchain tools in different ways. The U.S. government partners with Chainlink to publish economic data onchain. Iran uses crypto assets such as Bitcoin and USDT to get around banking sanctions and to pay for imports, and earlier this year it released a Strait of Hormuz insurance proposal that would have required ships to pay tolls in crypto. Russia also uses crypto assets for international trade settlements and cross-border payments. Iran's and Russia's use cases show value moving on rails that operate independently of the foreign banking system — the kind of access Netanyahu said Israel should be prepared to do without.

This is not the first time Israel has looked at blockchain. In 2025, it unveiled a preliminary design for a Digital Shekel, its central bank digital currency. It has not released further plans for the project.

On Friday, Netanyahu confirmed he had requested the blockchain plan but offered no further detail.