The Israeli regulator issued a license to Hybrid Bridge Holdings to work with cryptocurrencies in the country

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Israel Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority (CMISA) issued Hybrid Bridge Holdings Ltd a license to conduct operations with digital assets in the country.

According to local media, Hybrid BridgeHoldings is developing infrastructure to connect fiat currencies and crypto assets to bank accounts, which will be subject to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. 

Issuance of a license to Hybrid BridgeHoldings demonstrates the Israeli regulator's commitment to developing the digital asset industry in the country, and this will greatly simplify trading for local investors in the cryptocurrency space.

In the next few days the same licensesSeveral more companies working with crypto assets are planning to receive. The Capital Markets Authority conducts rigorous audits of these entities, checking for money laundering and terrorist financing risks, technology and operational risks, and the measures taken to protect client assets.

It should be noted that the department pays special attentioninvestments in cryptocurrencies. Last August, the regulator required insurance and investment companies to provide a report on any investments related to Bitcoin, as the Authority considers it a speculative asset.

At the beginning of the year, the department began to investigateactivities of the Binance trading platform, after which it became clear that the exchange does not have a license to provide services to Israeli citizens. Therefore, Binance suspended operations in the country and stopped supporting the Israeli shekel.

Israel's Central Bank is exploring possibilitiesown digital currency. It will work on a two-tier scheme with the participation of commercial banks, which will become intermediaries between ordinary users and the central bank. In May, the Central Bank of Israel reported that the digital shekel had attracted great public interest.