Egypt’s Central Bank Issues Crypto Warning as Violators Risk Imprisonment – According to Egypt Independent, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has renewed its warning about all types of cryptocurrencies, citing a number of risks such as high volatility, use in financial crimes, and e-piracy. The ECB also stated that cryptocurrency is not issued or backed by the central bank or any other government entity.
“In the same context, the Law of the Central Bank of Egypt and the Banking System promulgated by Law No. 194 of 2020 prohibits issuing, trading, or promoting cryptocurrencies, as well as creating or operating trading platforms or carrying out related activities,” the CBE statement reads, adding: “Whoever violates this shall be imprisoned, and fined no less than one million pounds and no more than LE10 million $516,340, or one of these two penalties.”
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The Egyptian central bank issued a similar warning about cryptocurrencies in January 2018, specifically naming bitcoin, stating: “It is worthy to note that cryptocurrencies are not issued by any central bank, or any official central issuing authority that can be held accountable.”
“Moreover, cryptocurrencies are not backed by any tangible assets and are not supervised by any regulators worldwide, and consequently, they lack the official governmental guarantee and support enjoyed by the other official currencies issued by central banks,” the central bank added.
Egypt’s Central Bank Issues Crypto Warning as Violators Risk Imprisonment – Egypt’s Dar El-Ifta, the government’s principal Islamic institution for issuing fatwas (religious opinions), issued an edict in January 2018, declaring that any and all uses of cryptocurrency were ḥarām, or forbidden including purchasing, selling, and leasing.
