Israel Bitcoin Association Wants Local Banks To Disclose Crypto Policies

The latest cryptocurrency news show that Bitcoiners in Israel are prepared to change a lot of things in their country. According to the Israel Bitcoin Association which is a nonprofit promoting the use of Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto, a freedom of information petition was filed with a Jerusalem court – seeking to require local banks to disclose their policies on money originating from cryptocurrencies.

The news first appeared in the local news daily outlet Globes on August 19. As many best cryptocurrency news sites then showed, state banks are required to report reasons for refusing transactions to the central bank of the country, the Bank of Israel. This is why the association previously reached out to the bank, asking for clarification on cryptocurrency policies of commercial banks – but was refused.

The association chairman Meni Rosenfeld then told Globes that the Bank of Israel refused the request on the grounds that these were “industry secrets.” This is why the Israel Bitcoin Association moved forward with a legal petition to make the disclosure mandatory. As the legal adviser Jonathan Klinger said:

“Under the Banking (Licensing) Law, it is the duty of a bank to state to the Bank of Israel the policy under which it refuses to conduct transactions. We therefore contacted the Bank of Israel and asked for this information, but the Bank of Israel did not agree to disclose this policy to us. We therefore decided to petition the court to force the Bank of Israel to provide us with a copy of the policy submitted to it by the banks.”

Israeli banks have been denying the Israel Bitcoin Association the ability to open accounts in the country, even though the association does not buy or sell cryptocurrency. This, as the report shows, is likely due to the association’s name which includes the word Bitcoin.

So far, many other traders and crypto related businesses have struggled with difficulties making deposits and remaining tax compliant because of the crypto-averse banking policies in Israel. According to some reports in the altcoin news, cryptocurrency traders in Israel cannot pay taxes and are unable to make deposits of funds obtained through cryptocurrencies.