Israel’s reputation as a startup nation was built on cybersecurity, semiconductors and enterprise software. Over the past decade, it has quietly expanded into blockchain infrastructure, not speculative trading platforms or short-lived tokens, but the foundational technologies that make decentralized systems scalable, usable and secure. The Kaspa blockchain, KaspaCom, Addressable, Polygon and others illustrate why this shift matters, and why Israel’s ability to attract and retain entrepreneurial talent in this space is becoming a strategic asset.
Kaspa itself is an Israeli invention. It was created to address one of blockchain’s oldest challenges: how to maintain decentralization and security while achieving high throughput. Instead of abandoning proof of work, Kaspa re-engineered consensus from first principles. This type of system-level thinking under constraint is characteristic of Israeli engineering culture, and it tends to attract founders and developers who are interested in solving hard problems rather than chasing hype cycles.
KaspaCom, built on top of Kaspa and led by Israeli entrepreneur Sione Milhem, shows how infrastructure innovation translates into disciplined entrepreneurship. Rather than launching a single product and relying on aggressive token incentives, KaspaCom built an integrated decentralized finance platform step by step. It focused on usability, education and long-term alignment in an ecosystem with limited capital, a small initial user base, and no centralized marketing engine behind the underlying blockchain.
The importance of this case extends beyond crypto. It demonstrates how Israeli founders approach uncertainty differently. KaspaCom avoided short-term growth driven by subsidized liquidity and instead concentrated on building trust and real usage. Its token was designed as an economic coordination tool rather than a speculative shortcut. These choices reflect a broader Israeli entrepreneurial instinct to prioritize structural soundness over rapid expansion, even when market pressure pushes toward faster but riskier paths.
Similar patterns can be seen in other Israeli-linked blockchain successes. Polygon became global infrastructure by solving Ethereum’s scalability problem rather than competing for users directly. Addressable focused on attribution and measurement in Web3, tackling a problem most firms avoided because of its technical and regulatory complexity. In each case, value was created by addressing foundational challenges that required deep expertise and long-term commitment.
Prof. Ilan Alon Photo: CourtesyFor Israel, the lesson is straightforward. Attracting and retaining blockchain entrepreneurs is not primarily about tax incentives or branding. It is about creating an environment where technically deep, globally oriented founders can build durable systems. Universities, regulators, and investors all play a role. When blockchain is treated only as a speculative risk, the most serious builders look elsewhere. When it is recognized as financial and digital infrastructure, they stay and scale.
Kaspa and KaspaCom suggest that Israel can continue to shape the future of blockchain, not as a hub of speculation, but as a source of core technologies and disciplined entrepreneurship. In the competition for global talent, infrastructure, not hype, is where Israel still holds a meaningful advantage.