The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has renewed its warnings against dealing in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
In a statement, on Sunday, the CBE said that in the context of following up on the news circulating about virtual cryptocurrencies, it stresses the importance of adhering to Article 206 of the Central Bank and Banking System Law promulgated by Law No 2020.
This covers prohibiting issuing, trading, or promoting cryptocurrencies, creating or operating platforms for their trading, or carrying out activities related to them.
The CBE said that there is a high risk involved in dealing in cryptocurrencies, as they are dominated by instability and extreme volatility in the value of their prices.
This comes as a result of the unattended global speculation in such currencies, which makes investing in them risky.
It also warned of the possibility of a sudden loss in their value, as a result of the lack of supervision by any central bank or official central issuing authority.
Cryptocurrencies also do not have tangible physical assets, and are not subject to the supervision of any international regulatory body. As a result, they lack the guarantee and official government support that the official currencies issued by the central banks.
The CBE affirmed that financial dealing in Egypt is limited to official currencies it has approved, and called upon dealers in the Egyptian market to be very careful and not to engage in high-risk informal currencies.
