Israeli Crypto Scene Booms Amidst Conflict

Despite the conflict, the Israeli crypto scene booms amidst adversity. The local industry, known for resilience, thrives as the global crypto market surges. Regulatory approvals fuel growth, attracting billions into the ecosystem.

Despite the War, Israeli Crypto Scene Thrives

Since the war broke out, Israel's high-tech industry has embraced the motto, "Israel delivers no matter what." Is the local crypto ecosystem also riding this wave of resilience?

Crypto Bull Market Spurs Local Growth

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of Bitcoin ETFs in January sent crypto asset prices soaring by over 70%. This regulatory green light attracted over $11 billion into the crypto space, drawing attention to ecosystems worldwide, including Israel's.

According to research from Collider, Israel's largest crypto-focused fund, the Israeli crypto industry has raised over $100 million since October 7th, despite the war. The number of builders in the space is expected to grow significantly in the short to medium term.

Israeli Crypto Companies on the Rise

Since the war, Israel has seen a flurry of crypto company successes. Blockaid, Ingonyama, Tres, Fordefi, Utila, Addressable, Oobit, and others have collectively raised around $115 million. Starkware, the company behind one of Ethereum's largest zero-knowledge rollups, has reached a $20 billion valuation with the launch of their $STARK token.

Tokenized Securities and Blockchain Innovation

The rising crypto market has breathed new life into an industry that suffered in 2022. BlackRock's Larry Fink sees tokenized securities as "The Next Generation for Markets." Transactions on certain blockchains now cost less than $0.01, opening up a wide range of new use cases.

Institutional players like PayPal have entered the crypto space, while firms like Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas have successfully completed initial blockchain experiments.

Israeli Founders Fuel Innovation

"We've seen a surge in entrepreneurs building in crypto, especially in security and infrastructure," says Avishay Ovadia, Founding Partner of Collider. "Israel has an incredibly large pool of talent."

Many founders in the local industry have backgrounds in elite intelligence units or academia. "Despite the war, Israeli companies have continued to innovate," Ovadia emphasizes.

Israeli Dominance in Crypto Security

Israeli companies dominate the crypto security sector, with many founders hailing from local cyberintelligence units. Fireblocks, Blockaid, Ironblocks, Certora, and Chaos Labs are among the leading projects in this space.

Founders with academic backgrounds tend to focus on infrastructure, particularly in multiparty computation, zero-knowledge proofs, and fully homomorphic encryption. Starkware, Kaspa, Ingonyama, Odsy, and Fhenix are prominent names in these areas.