Cryptocurrency has a new fan in the form of Egypt.

Egypt Says “Yes” to Crypto

Previously, the nation had placed a ban on cryptocurrencies and related trading activity. It was a sad sight in many ways, as cryptocurrencies could potentially do a lot for nations similar with Egypt, but the country has had serious trust issues with digital assets given their volatility and alleged ties to money laundering and related criminal activity.

Crypto was banned in Egypt in 2018, though bitcoin was later considered legal under halal, which means it’s permissible in Sharia Law for several Muslim nations.

A report explains:

The new draft law has allocated great importance to financial technology, keeping pace with major developments in the banking industry in the world and enhancing the use of modern technology in the provision of financial and banking services… The new law provides legal authority for the electronic authentication of bank transactions, electronic payment orders, and transfer orders as well as for the electronic settlement of checks and the issuance and circulation of electronic checks and electronic discount orders, provided the Board of Directors of CBE issue rules and procedures regulating all the aforementioned actions.

The ban remained in place up until this week. While cryptocurrency exchanges and businesses will be allowed to operate in Egypt, they can only do so if they garner the appropriate licenses before beginning their operations. Thus, they can engage in business relations and financial transactions, but the process is likely to be somewhat difficult in the long run.

Several nations like Egypt stand to benefit from cryptocurrencies. When standard credit options or traditional financial means aren’t always available, cryptocurrencies have a lot to offer. Fears of volatility, while still somewhat warranted, should probably begin to cease considering that assets like bitcoin have shown a certain strength that’s never been witnessed before.

Bitcoin Is Getting Stronger

For example, popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance was the victim of a hack in recent weeks, with more than $40 million in bitcoin units stolen from the platform. Three or four years ago, bitcoin would have undoubtedly experienced a solid drop thanks to this news. This time, however, things proved to be quite different. Bitcoin’s price did change, but it changed for the better. News of the hack didn’t get in the way of bitcoin spiking beyond $6,000, then $7,000 and ultimately $8,000 in recent days.

What bitcoin remains open to, unfortunately, is security issues that make it vulnerable to malicious activity similar with what was seen with Binance, though to be fair, these security issues aren’t really the product of bitcoin but rather the platforms that store it. Binance stored these bitcoin units in hot wallets, which is a mistake given its lack of security compared to cold storage tactics.