1-10 Million Pound Fines for Crypto Trading in Egypt: What You Need to Know

If you’re trading cryptocurrency in Egypt, you’re breaking the law - and the penalties are brutal. Fines range from 1 million to 10 million Egyptian pounds (roughly $51,600 to $516,000 USD), plus possible jail time. This isn’t a warning. It’s a criminal offense under Law No. 194 of 2020. And despite the risks, millions of Egyptians still use crypto every day.

What Does Egyptian Law Actually Say?

Law No. 194 of 2020 doesn’t just discourage crypto. It bans it entirely. The law makes it illegal to issue, trade, promote, or operate any cryptocurrency exchange within Egypt. That includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana - any digital asset. The punishment? Either imprisonment, a fine between 1 and 10 million EGP, or both. There’s no gray area. No exceptions for personal use. No leniency for small transactions.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) pushed this hard. Back in 2018, they warned that Bitcoin and other cryptos had no backing, no regulation, and no government support. By 2020, that warning became law. Article 206 of the law is the hammer. It doesn’t just target traders. It goes after anyone who promotes crypto on social media, runs a Telegram channel selling tokens, or even helps someone buy Bitcoin through a peer-to-peer app.

Who Enforces This?

It’s not just the Central Bank. The Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) is actively hunting violators. They’ve started publishing lists of unlicensed platforms - websites, apps, influencers - that are pushing crypto as an investment. If you’re promoting crypto in Egypt, even as a side hustle, you’re on their radar. The FRA has asked citizens to report these platforms. That means your neighbor, your coworker, or even your crypto-savvy friend could be reporting you.

The FRA also says this violates Capital Market Law No. 95 of 1992. That’s the law that says no public financial offering can happen without their approval. Crypto? No approval. No exceptions. So even if you’re just sharing a link to a Binance referral page, you could be breaking two laws at once.

Why Are People Still Using Crypto?

Here’s the twist: Egypt has one of the highest crypto adoption rates in Africa and the Middle East. A 2022 report from TripleA found that over 1.7 million Egyptians - about 1.75% of the population - owned cryptocurrency. That’s second only to Morocco in the Arab world. Globally, that’s not huge. But in a country where average monthly income is around 3,000 EGP, having 1.7 million people risking 10 million EGP fines? That says something.

People aren’t doing it for speculation. They’re doing it because they have to. Inflation is high. The Egyptian pound has lost value. Banks are slow. International transfers take weeks and cost a fortune. Crypto offers a way around that. A way to send money to family abroad without going through the broken banking system. A way to protect savings from devaluation. The law doesn’t change that need - it just makes it dangerous.

What Happens If You Get Caught?

There’s no public record of how often people are prosecuted. But the threat is real. The government doesn’t need to prove you made money. They don’t need to prove you traded. They just need to prove you were involved. A single transaction on a P2P app. A screenshot of a wallet. A message saying “I bought ETH.” That’s enough.

The fines are designed to hurt. One million EGP is over 300 times the average monthly salary. Ten million? That’s a year’s income for most people. And jail? That’s permanent. A criminal record in Egypt can block you from getting a job, opening a bank account, or even traveling abroad.

International businesses are caught in the crossfire too. Companies trying to pay Egyptian freelancers in crypto? Illegal. Foreign startups offering crypto-based services to Egyptian users? At risk of prosecution. Egypt’s ban doesn’t just affect individuals - it cuts the country off from global innovation.

The Paradox of Control

Egypt’s government wants to control money. They want to track every transaction. They want to prevent fraud and money laundering. But crypto was built to do the opposite. It’s decentralized. It’s anonymous. It’s outside their control. So instead of adapting, they chose to ban it entirely.

But bans don’t stop demand. They just push it underground. The same way people used cash to avoid taxes, now they use crypto to avoid inflation. The government can fine, jail, and block websites - but they can’t stop someone from downloading a wallet app on a VPN.

The result? A country where financial innovation is criminalized, but where people still find ways to use it. Where the law says crypto is dangerous - but the economy says it’s necessary.

What About Blockchain and Web3?

The ban doesn’t just target coins. It kills everything connected to them. No crypto exchanges. No DeFi platforms. No NFT marketplaces. Even blockchain-based startups trying to build legitimate tools - supply chain trackers, identity systems, land registries - are stuck. No funding. No legal protection. No way to hire developers who understand the tech.

Egypt could be a leader in African fintech. Instead, it’s become a cautionary tale. While other countries in the region - like the UAE and Saudi Arabia - are building regulatory sandboxes for crypto, Egypt is building prison cells.

Is There Any Way Around It?

Legally? No. There’s no license for crypto trading in Egypt. No grandfather clause. No loophole. Even using a foreign exchange like Binance or Kraken from inside Egypt is against the law. The government blocks access to these sites, but many users bypass the blocks with VPNs. That doesn’t make it legal - just harder to catch.

If you’re an Egyptian citizen, the only safe path is to avoid crypto entirely. If you’re a foreigner living in Egypt, the same rule applies. Your bank account, your job, your future - all at risk if you get caught.

There’s no middle ground. No compromise. Just a hard line: trade crypto in Egypt, and you’re gambling with your freedom.