The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is moving towards offering crypto trading
A draft approval for the extension of crypto trading activities to non-bank members has been published by the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) for public comment.
In a TASE first, an announcement on February 27 stated that the proposed structure will enable customers to deposit fiat money intended for investment in digital assets.
Non-bank members will act as licensed providers of crypto trading and custody services if the proposal is approved. Client funds will be placed in an “omnibus account” as an intermediary for crypto trading activities.
It will also allow clients to withdraw funds derived from the sale of crypto, but the process is somewhat convoluted. This has been done to reduce risk and improve consumer protection, according to the announcement.
“This is another step in the development and evolution of the Israeli capital market that aims to encourage innovation and competition while reducing risk and protecting clients.”
Once comments are submitted, the proposal will be sent to the TASE board for approval, but no time frame was given.
Things may not be going so smoothly for the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and its crypto trading ambitions.
The regulatory outlook in Israel is getting tough for the sector as a proposed law plans to classify crypto assets as securities. In January, the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) proposed a framework for the regulation of digital assets, placing them under the umbrella of securities.
In February, CEO of Israeli crypto trading and custody firm Altshuler Shaham Horizon, Ilan Sterk, told Cointelegraph that the reclassification “changes everything here,” adding, “it will kill the industry.”
Related: Proposed Israeli law to classify crypto as securities will hurt industry, says crypto chief
The TASE announcement stated that the current regulatory approach in Israel is to “impose regulation of financial activities or services in digital assets in the same way as that which currently applies to non-digital assets.”
However, TASE remained confident and concluded:
“TASE believes that the alignment of local regulation with international regulation will attract more foreign investment and foreign investors into the Israeli market.”
In September, Israeli crypto exchange Bits of Gold became the first in the country to receive a license from the Capital Markets Authority.
