Bank of Israel Partnered with Kima to Test Central Bank Digital Currency, Digital Shekel

The Bank of Israel has partnered with Kima, a decentralized settlement protocol, to test a central bank digital currency (CBDC) called the Digital Shekel. The collaboration enabled Kima to facilitate a tokenized stock transfer using the digital shekel.

Here's how it worked:

1. The buyer's digital shekels were locked until the stock was transferred.
2. Upon completion, the [digital shekels] was released to the seller and converted into regular shekels.
3. The transaction was facilitated by Kima's decentralized settlement protocol, which utilized two sets of API calls within the Bank of Israel's exploratory sandbox for their digital shekel pilot program.

"Today's financial systems are weighed down by barriers and intermediaries that slow down transactions and add unnecessary costs," noted Eitan Katz, CEO of Kima. "For the first time, our solution has enabled an unprecedented efficient transaction, performing real-time delivery-vs-payment without intermediary escrow or smart contracts."

Kima's technology enabled the secure and instant transfer of the tokenized stock, without the need for intermediaries or smart contracts. This was made possible by Kima's Universal Payment Rail (UPR) and Liquidity Cloud, which connect fiat and digital assets across multiple blockchains.

With its novel financial primitive—the Smart Transaction—and an intuitive SDK for Web3 and Web2 apps, Kima enables interchain and hybrid transactions, expanding accessibility to a broader audience.