The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has issued a new warning about cryptocurrencies, noting that violators could face prison terms. The Central Bank of Egypt law prohibits “mining, trading or promoting cryptocurrencies, creating or operating trading platforms, or performing related activities.
Crypto warning issued by the Central Bank of Egypt
The Central Bank of Egypt has renewed its warning about all types of cryptocurrencies, citing several risks including high volatility, financial crimes and illegal use, The Egypt Independent reported on Tuesday. The ECB also emphasized that crypto is not issued or supported by the central bank or any official authority.
“Similarly, the Central Bank of Egypt Law and Banking System – promulgated by Law No. 194 of 2020 – prohibits the issuance, trading or promotion of cryptocurrencies, the creation or operation of trading platforms or related activities,” the CBE statement added:
Anyone who contravenes this shall be liable to imprisonment and a fine of not less than one million pounds and not more than LE10 million. [$516,340]or one of these two punishments.
The Central Bank of Egypt issued a similar warning in January 2018 about cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin.
It should be noted that cryptocurrencies are not issued by any central bank or any official central issuing authority that may be held accountable.
“Furthermore, cryptocurrencies are not backed by any tangible assets and are not regulated by any regulators around the world, and as a result, they do not have the official government guarantees and support that other official currencies issued by central banks get,” the central bank added.
Egypt’s Dar el-Ifta, the government’s main Islamic institution that issues fatwas (religious opinions), declared in January 2018 that any and all use of cryptocurrency is haram, or prohibited – including buying, selling and renting it.
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