Egypt’s central bank said it has no intention of issuing legislation or passing a special law that allows the trading of digital currency, including bitcoin, in a statement Wednesday. ” So far there is no legislation or law on virtual currencies that allows electronic circulation in Egypt,” the statement read. Egypt’s first bitcoin exchange will go live later this month, the founders of Bitcoin Egypt said, linking the Middle East’s most populous country with a cryptocurrency that has surged in value in recent months. The central bank’s response came just hours after a handful of publications reported the launch of Bitcoin Egypt, which is expected at the end of August. “We’re still waiting on the Egyptian government to set some kind of regulations…Without any laws, bitcoin is not legal money in Egypt,” Bitcoin Egypt founder Rami Khalil told Reuters earlier this week.

Source: Egypt Independent August 23, 2017 13:30 UTC