Bitcoin in Africa Series: Reporting On Egypt - Bitcoin Can Get Your Arrested!

This video is part of my Bitcoin in Africa Series where I will report on the use of Bitcoin and crypto currencies in Africa. There will be a complete playlists on YouTube with respect to this topic. The country in focus here is Egypt. Please find video down below.

If you have any questions or comments please add them below.

Original Article Link:
Website: Coin Telegraph
Title: "Bitcoin in Egypt Is Treated Like Narcotic Drugs, But Enthusiasts Soldier On"

Rough Unedited Transcript:
Good afternoon guys. Welcome to the Sobuka channel. This is a continuation of my Bitcoin in Africa series where I look at news and events surrounding the continent of Africa. The country in focus is Egypt. And my commentary will be based on an article from Coin Telegraph Titled ‘Bitcoin in Egypt Is Treated Like Narcotic Drugs, But Enthusiasts Soldier on’. The purpose of my playlist series is to inform the public about what is happening in crypto currencies with respect to Africa. You can check out contents like this and other African countries under my YouTube channel within the playlist section.

Before I begin with the news article, I highlight a popular dish of the country I talk about. The one you see here is from Egypt. It is called the Egyptian Kushari. Often called the national dish of Egypt, Kushari is a hearty combination of flavors and textures topped off with spicy tomato sauce and fried onions. If you visit Egypt or an Egyptian restaurant, you now know of one popular dish. Maybe you can purchase it with Bitcoin. You can stay tuned until the end of my presentation to find out how this gorgeous meal can be created at home. The pictured dish is here:

Today, the source of my presentation is from Coin Telegraph Dot Com. The article dated Feb 9th of this year, 2017 states that bitcoin owners are treated harshly by the government which is ran by the army. The article is broken down into several parts.

The first section is crackdown. Its stated in the article by an Egyptian, Ahmed El-mo-gy as follow, “Bitcoin in Egypt is like dealing in narcotic drugs. Honestly, you could be arrested if the government finds out what you are doing. [...He goes on by saying…] One of my friends has been thrown in jail without trial for selling on the site localbitcoins.com. We are now working in silence and secrecy.” So for those of you who do not already know, localbitcoin is a global bitcoin network that supports direct peer-to-peer buy and sell orders of bitcoins.

So guys… This is really a shame for crypto currencies in Egypt as many bitcoin users in that country look at Bitcoin as a way to transact, buy, and sell good and services as well as make money from mining.

The second section of this article is demand in Egypt. There is demand in a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin in Egypt. The article states “that the Egyptian government’s approach to Bitcoin is very cold.” Folks can be punished if found doing anything related with Bitcoin. Ahmed Elmogy states, “Online workers, Forex Traders and all those involved in the cross-border exchange of goods and services need Bitcoin badly for their activities. With electronic banking banned over here, many people look to Bitcoin to do economic activities but the pathetic reality is that our government is denying us this unprecedented opportunity. I think Bitcoin demand in Egypt would have grown at a faster rate than the rest of the world if it weren't for the needless impediments."

What the article states in the last section called Sleepy Government is how inflation is leading to the going trend in Bitcoin as it eats away on people’s wealth. And I am frankly not surprised about hearing that. Folks from many countries including the US are trying to hedge against inflation like Bitcoin.

My take on this article is that this is obviously too bad. I recommend the Egyptian government to look at countries in Africa like Nigeria and outside countries like Russia who are slowing adopting Bitcoin and block-chain technology. The article does not really state why the Egyptian government is doing this but I’d imagine this is strictly for currency control and to combat terrorism as their possible reasons. There are obviously many ways to go around Egypt's Bitcoin policy, but I don’t recommend going against what your government has sanctioned. What might be worthwhile for the government of Egypt to do is legalize Bitcoin and classify it as a taxable asset as they are doing in the US. That way at least the government can profit of it and the people can transact with it. It seems lately with countries adopting Bitcoin that governance and policies are better enforced and implemented after things are made legalized.

Again the link to this article is below under my description section.

The comments section is open to everyone. Especially if you are living overseas outside the US or know of anyone outside on those places like the Caribbean and Africa, comment on what is going on over there with respect to bitcoin and crypto currencies. I definitely know that Steemit, the social media platform on its own block chain is growing with subscribers all around the world. You can also find me on Steemit and subscribe over there.

The video link is here: