In the end of May 2019, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced that it is working on a draft law for crypto-related activities. When introduced, it will oblige financial institutions in the country to obtain licenses in advance for creating, advertising or operating platforms that issue or facilitate trading of cryptocurrencies. Licenses will be issued by the CBE’s board of directors. This marked the first step the Egyptian government made toward the legalization of activities related to cryptocurrencies.
The state’s attitude toward the new sector of the economy, especially the financial structures in Egypt has always been unstable. Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies only began to be widely discussed in 2015, when the startup Yellow launched a bitcoin voucher service. In fact, it was the first service in the region of the Middle East and North Africa that allowed Egyptian citizens to buy bitcoin for the national currency through the use of vouchers.