By Nathan Ferguson
Recently, it was posted on a social media platform by Bits of Gold – a crypto exchange of Israel – that it has got licensed by the Capital Markets Authority. It has now turned into the 1st Israel-based organization to acquire a license. The ramification of this event would be that Bits of Gold will easily provide custody services for digital assets through its most protected wallets. The workers have continuously been operating on this utility previously.
Bits of Gold Gets License to Operate in Israeli Jurisdiction
Its services will be improved up to such a level that it will facilitate banks and other firms to directly access their digital property conveniently. In a report, it was stated that the acquisition of a license is a further step towards their aim. The company wants to make cryptocurrency services easier and safer for the public of Israel.
The government of Israel has restricted the use of traditional currency for payments in cash to tackle criminal activities prevalent in the country. It is diverting people’s attention toward digital currency for payments. Even then the level of organizational adoption is very low in the case of Israeli banks due to their hostile behavior toward the crypto industry. The crypto services had been blocked in Israel by the banks, referring to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) problems.
The Supreme court of the country passed the verdict in 2017 that Leumi was no more compelled to provide service to Bits of Gold, as it is not following the ALM requirements. Later on, in 2019, the Supreme court altered its decision. it ordered that Leumi couldn’t ever freeze an account owned by Bits of Gold due to regulations. This event became a role model for all the other organizations based on cryptocurrency.
Israel Puts Heavy Taxes on Crypto Gains
The Israeli government has executed the AML laws in the country. It will pave the way for collaboration between the crypto market and local banks. The only compulsion is that crypto organizations should be licensed by the authorities to remain operational. One of the major obstacles to organizational adoption in Israel is its system of tax.
It has been reported on 8th September that Israel is the 3rd most offensive country for the crypto market, in case of imposing taxes. Coincub has reported that the crypto sales are liable to the implementation of a 33% tax on capital gains. The cryptocurrency invested for business purposes will be subject to approximately 50% income tax.