In Egypt, where Bitcoin has been banned since 2020 under threat of prison and fines of up to 10 million Egyptian pounds, peer-to-peer trading volumes have more than tripled amid the collapse of the Egyptian pound, which fell to over 52 per dollar in the spring. Inflation reached 14.9% year-over-year in July, while the central bank maintains its key rate at 19% and the IMF disbursed an additional 1.8 billion dollars under its aid program. Suez Canal revenues dropped from 10.2 billion dollars in 2023 to 4 billion in 2024, deepening the economic crisis. Faced with rapid devaluation of their currency, Egyptian citizens are turning massively to Bitcoin to protect their purchasing power, with peer-to-peer exchanges allowing them to evade regulatory surveillance.
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