According to Egyptian media reports, the Central Bank of Egypt announced on the 22nd local time, allowing local banks under its supervision to issue digital currency for mobile payment services, and stored in electronic media. In addition to issuing banks, other individuals or entities may use digital currencies for payment operations. Such digital currencies will be issued in accordance with the rules promulgated by the Central Bank of Egypt and can be converted into pounds of cash equivalent to the Egyptian pound.
In its mobile payment regulations, Egypt’s central bank explained that the issuance of digital currencies was limited to banks under its supervision and should be approved in advance. The Regulation also stipulates that banks issuing digital currencies must have a deposit in the E pound with a total value not less than that of their digital currency.
The Central Bank of Egypt also stated that banks authorized to issue digital currencies “will manage digital currency records through a system that will link the operations of system users to service providers by displaying the currency value of the issued digital currency, system users and service providers, and monitoring payment orders for digital currencies and their breakdown reports.”
On March 28, local time, Egypt’s central bank issued a statement warning its citizens not to trade cryptocurrencies, stressing that “Egypt can only trade in official currencies approved by its central bank”.
