Private investment in Israeli defensive and other cyber technologies has reached $6 billion in value this year, triple the figure for 2020, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Wednesday.
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Bennett attributed the rise to what he described as an accelerating threat of cybercrime. His remarks, aired on Army Radio, were delivered at a technology conference.
In June, the International Institute for Strategic Studies ranked Israel as one of the strongest cyber powers in the world, setting it on a par with Australia, Canada, China, France, Russia and Britain.
Israeli cyber had high-tech companies have been growing steadily strong over the past few years, breaking annual performance and revenue records.
The high-tech industry noted record capital investments in the first three quarters of 2021, raising $17.78 billion in 575 deals, the IVC-Meitar Israeli Tech Review report, published this week, reveals.
The first three quarters of 2021 were notable for mega-founds of fundraising (defined as rounds yielding $100 million or more), with 53 such rounds completed in the same period worth a combined $9 billion.
Moreover, it appears that Israeli startup companies are reaching "unicorn" status faster than ever before.
In business, a "unicorn" is defined as a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion. The term was coined in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee, who chose the mythical animal to represent the statistical rarity of such successful ventures.
Meanwhile, Israel's new cryptocurrency regulations came into force this week, seeking to curtail potential money laundering using virtual currency the likes of Bitcoin , ethereum, litecoin, chainlink etc.
The Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority's ordinance will apply to all providers of financial services, including fintech companies, credit providers, and cryptocurrency companies, which will now be subject to obligations designed to prevent them from being used as means to launder money or finance terrorism.
Commissioner of Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings, who will supervise the process of licensing companies to deal with digital currencies is, however, "still in the process of examining the various cryptocurrency entities that have filed license applications," according to financial daily Globes.
The ordinance further outlines rules for electronic transfer of money and digital currency within Israel and outside it, an issue monitored closely by the Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings Authority.
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