The Israeli regulator has greenlit the launch of BILS, a shekel-anchored stablecoin issued by exchange Bits of Gold
Israeli financial authorities have approved the launch of BILS, a stablecoin pegged to the Israeli shekel issued by virtual exchange Bits of Gold. The announcement came on Monday, April 27, 2026, from Israel’s Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority, which granted the authorization following a two-year pilot program on Solana.
According to the official statement, the reserves backing the stablecoin will be held in Israel in “designated and separate accounts”. Youval Rouach, founder and CEO of Bits of Gold, stated: “BILS creates a direct bridge between the Israeli shekel and the global digital asset economy, enabling real-time payments, on-chain trading, and programmable financial applications built on a regulated local currency”.
The launch of BILS comes at a significant moment for the Israeli currency: at the time of publication, the shekel was trading at 30-year highs against the US dollar, with an exchange rate of 1 ILS equal to 0.34 USD. The global stablecoin market currently has a total capitalization of over 320 billion dollars, dominated by US dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDt.
