Israeli-headquartered crypto exchange Bits of Gold has reportedly become the pioneering crypto entity in the nation to receive a license from the Capital Markets Authority. 

Specifically, as the outcome of securing the license, Bits of Gold will have the power to store digital currencies via secured custody in a “Bits of Gold Wallet” they have been developing for a while. 

It will further begin offering a service that makes it possible for banks and other financial entities to establish a connection with its digital asset services.

Via a public statement, Bits of Gold reportedly claimed that the license is the next step towards their objective of amplifying the accessibility of the world of digital currencies in the eye of the Isreali public “in a simple and secure manner.”

The Israel government have been placing limitations on cash payments locally, as it doubles down on the efforts to fight against illegal activity and drive a transition to digital payments within the nation.

Regardless of that, institutional adoption in the nation has been not going as fast as anticipated, with Isreali banks having been displaying an unfriendly attitude towards crypto and blocking services until recently, with concerns related to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations.

In 2017 the Israeli Supreme court reportedly issued a ruling that local bank Leumi was enabled by the law to refuse service to Bits of Gold, with the bank claiming that Bitcoin’s nature made it impossible for them to follow ALM requirements.

This ruling from the Supreme Court had been overuled, however by 2019, when it revoked Leumi’s ability to block Bits of Gold’s account based on regulatory concerns, and in doing so set a precedent for other cryptocurrency firms.

The enforcement of new AML regulations by the government in Israel further opened the path to co-operation between banks and the crypto industry. The development also set a requirement that crypto companies must be licensed, although companies that applied for one were given a permit to temporarily continue their operations.