How to Buy Bitcoin in Egypt – Beginner’s Guide

Want to buy Bitcoin in Egypt? Bitcoin is on the radar of forward-thinking investors right now. The BTC price has recently crept under the $30,000 mark. And some investors have noticed that the last time BTC was this cheap — back in July 2021 — it went on to double in value within four months. Will Bitcoin soar again? Below we do our best to find out.

With crypto trading under pressure in Egypt, the key question investors face is: where to buy Bitcoin in Egypt? Below we review six relevant top platforms. We look at what we can expect from each vendor in the way of fees, regulation, security and ease of use. Let’s see how easy it is to get started with just an internet connection and a smartphone or computer.

Crypto assets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.

Where to Buy Bitcoin in Egypt

Religious and governmental regulation can present difficulties if an investor wants to buy Bitcoin in Egypt. Below we present six Bitcoin vendors which give investors the best chance of successfully making a BTC purchase.

How to buy Bitcoin in Egypt in a way that suits the investor depends on preference too:

1. A relatively simple service is offered by the exchange on our list serving MENA: Bitoasis. Bitoasis requires SAR or AED to open an account.
2. Flexibility for Egyptian investors is offered by Paxful. This is the P2P (peer-2-peer) platform founded by Egyptian/US CEO Ray Youssef. Egyptian investors can browse through various Bitcoin offers and pay with many methods.
3. Big US exchanges Coinbase and Crypto.com are known for a beginner-friendly approach, plenty of ways to deposit funds, and many trading options.
4. Capital.com stands out as a broker because it offers CFD trading only. Trading Contracts-For-Difference suits investors who want to speculate on the price of Bitcoin, but who do not want to actually own it.
5. Top of our list is Binance. Binance offers numerous ways to trade Bitcoin, including P2P trading. With P2P trading on Binance, numerous payment methods are permitted and the Egyptian Pound is welcome.

1: Binance — Giant Bitcoin Exchange with 600 Crypto to Trade

With 600+ crypto on offer and over $5bn of crypto business done every day, giant crypto exchange Binance is a natural destination for investors wanting to buy Bitcoin in Egypt. The Bitcoin ecosystem is well-established, with many ways to trade Bitcoin as well as many DeFi (Decentralised Finance) options.

International investors can deposit funds with Binance and buy crypto using credit/debit card, direct bank transfer and third-parties like Simplex and Bana. Or investors may transfer crypto in from a crypto wallet, and use that to trade on Binance’s mighty exchange. Stablecoins like Binance USD (BUSD) and Tether (USDT) are popular choices as trading collateral.

For the investor wanting to buy Bitcoin in Egypt, Binance stands out with its P2P (Peer-2-Peer) trading platform.

Here a range of key crypto is on offer:

• Bitcoin (BTC).
• Stablecoins Tether (USDT), DAI (DAI) and Binance Dollar (BUSD).
• In-house crypto Binance Coin (BNB).
• Key blockchain crypto Ethereum (ETH) and Cardano (ADA).
• Popular meme coin Shiba Inu (SHIB).

With Binance P2P, investors looking to buy Bitcoin in Egypt can track down an independent Bitcoin vendor, accept the deal on offer and pay remotely to have the purchased Bitcoin sent to a specified crypto wallet address.

Fractions of Bitcoin may be purchased, with different vendors specifying different minimums. Critically Egyptian pounds are accepted, as we can confirm from the screenshot above. What’s more, over 100+ payment methods are accepted, including the phone company payment systems like Vodafone Cash and Orange Money that are popular in countries where crypto trading is otherwise problematic.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

2: Crypto.com — Beginner-Friendly Bitcoin Exchange

Crypto.com is a US-based crypto platform that performs over $0.5bn USD worth of business every day. As we might expect from an enterprise this big, Crypto.com offers an impressive crypto ecosystem:

The Crypto.com Exchange

Accessible via desktop, the exchange allows trading in Bitcoin and other crypto. It uses a maker/taker commission fee schedule. Investors can expect to pay a maximum of 0.4% on crypto trades.

The Crypto.com App

Downloadable to the investor’s smartphone, this app presents 250+ crypto for trade.

Accessible on the app too are staking opportunities. With $5,000 of BTC staked and $400 or less of in-house crypto CRO, investors can return $120 USD per year. Rewards of up to 14.% APY (Annual Percentile Yield) are obtainable for stablecoins.

The app has attracted an average review score of 4.2/5 on the Apple App Store and 3.8/5 on Google Play.

The Crypto.com DeFi Wallet

Investors may use both the exchange and the app without getting the Crypto.com DeFi wallet. But we recommend this wallet, as it offers a range of powerful functions and zero fees on transactions (other than unavoidable network fees).

A particular bonus here is the ability to set the priority when sending/receiving Bitcoin. This keeps network fees as low as possible (if desired).

The wallet has attracted an average review score of 4.2/5 on the App Store and 4.0/5 on Google Play.

The Crypto.com ecosystem is secured by an impressive array of compliance with ISO 22301:2019, ISO/IEC 27701:2019, ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and PCIDSS v3.2.1 Level 1.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

3: Capital.com — Trade Bitcoin with CFDs

Capital.com is not a crypto exchange like Binance and Crypto.com. Capital.com is a heavily-regulated broker that offers a select range of crypto alongside a giant offering of traditional assets:

• 5470 different shares.
• 23 indices.
• 48 commodities.
• 138 forex pairs.

Crypto.com offers crypto trading in 470 pairs. These include two main types of pair: crypto crosses, where one crypto is traded against another (ETH/BTC for example) and crypto-fiat crosses, where a crypto is traded against a fiat currency (BTC/USD for example).

What sets Crypto.com apart is that investors do not need to own the underlying crypto to make trades. In fact, owning crypto is not possible with Crypto.com. All trading is conducted via CFDs (Contracts-For-Difference).

With CFDs, the investor faces the disadvantage that crypto cannot be withdrawn to a wallet and used for payment on the internet.

The advantage, though, is a big one: with CFDs, investors can ‘go short’ on crypto. This is very useful when the crypto sector is on the slide, as it has been since the new year. What’s more, CFDs allow for margin trading, which means investors can gear their trades to produce higher returns/losses.

Capital.com offers a smartphone trading app and is regulated by key authorities globally, including ASIC, the FCA and CySEC.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

4: Coinbase — Big US Exchange to Buy Bitcoin in Egypt

Based in San Francisco, California, Coinbase is the second-biggest crypto exchange in the world behind Binance. Coinbase handles over $1bn of crypto business every day. With over 73m users worldwide, this was the first exchange in the world to get listed on the stock exchanges, with an IPO on the US NASDAQ in 2021.

Coinbase’s international reputation stands on its combination of a decent selection of 160+ crypto, excellent security and comprehensive support for crypto beginners.

Coinbase was one of the first exchanges to pioneer ‘cold’ storage. This means that 98% of crypto held by Coinbase on behalf of clients is held offline using hardware wallets locked up in safes.

Depending on their country of origin, investors may sign up with Coinbase in a similar fashion to Binance, fund their account and buy Bitcoin instantly with as little as $25 minimum investment. PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay are available in limited capacities. But Coinbase no longer accepts credit cards from new customers.

A standout feature of Coinbase is its comprehensive encyclopedia of all crypto on the market twinned with learning modules which can be completed for modest crypto rewards. This makes for a robust, beginner-friendly package overall.

The Coinbase smartphone crypto app has received an average score of 4.1/5 on Google Play and a standout average score of 4.7/5 on Apple’s App Store.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

5: Paxful — Buy Bitcoin in Egypt using this Egyptian-founded P2P Platform

Paxful is a dedicated P2P platform founded by Egyptian/US CEO Ray Youssef. The platform offers full compatibility with the Egyptian Pound (as well as other currencies), and over 350 payment methods.

The Paxful P2P system hosts 12,000 trusted vendors. Buyers wanting to invest in Bitcoin in Egypt may search the offers available, and then pay for Bitcoin using the payment method advertised. To receive purchased Bitcoin, Paxful provide a free Bitcoin wallet powered by Bitgo — or investors can use their own.

From the screenshot below, we can confirm that popular payment methods like Vodafone Cash Payment and Orange Money are available. Direct payment from a crypto wallet is also sometimes offered.

• The vendor always sets a minimum amount of EGP that may be spent: a popular minimum is 187 EGP.
• Each vendor also lists any special circumstances on their post.
• For investors wanting to buy BTC in Egypt, the price of the Bitcoin available varies widely: from roughly 600k to 700k EGP per Bitcoin.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

6: Bitoasis — Top Bitcoin Vendor in MENA

Based in Dubai, Bitoasis brands itself as the top crypto provider in the Middle East and North Africa region (of which Egypt is a part). Founded in 2015, Bitoasis acts as both an exchange and a broker.

• Standard ‘Core’ Bitoasis service: Bitcoin is available for purchase direct. The national currencies of Saudi Arabia (SAR) and the UAE (AED) are accepted, as well as credit card.
•  ‘Pro’ Bitoasis service:  Accessible from Egypt, this service level permits Bitcoin and 40+ other crypto to be traded on the Bitoasis exchange using market orders and benefitting from a liquid order book.

Bitoasis is not transparent about its fees. But it does have a reputation for charging expensive spreads and high commissions, particularly on credit card purchases. So canny investors would do well to check the small print.

On the plus side, this Bitcoin provider runs a free incentive scheme. This involves existing members inviting friends to join, with both gaining AED rewards when either deposit and trade in crypto.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

Should I Buy Bitcoin?

Investors should only invest in Bitcoin with money they can afford to lose. The crypto market remains highly volatile.

Investors wanting to buy Bitcoin in Egypt should consider hedging their purchase by buying other crypto at the same time. Diversifying asset purchase spreads risk.

Thus, it is also a sensible strategy for an investor to hold their wealth in a mix of conventional stocks and shares, cash and other assets — with only 1% held in high-risk cryptocurrency.

Benefits of Buying Bitcoin

Those with a negative view on cryptocurrency argue that, because crypto do not generate funds like a business represented by stocks, there is nothing worth investing in.

With $25bn USD worth of Bitcoin traded every day, there are clearly others who beg to differ!

Here are five reasons why investors should consider Bitcoin as part of a diversified portfolio of stocks, commodities, cash and crypto:

1: Buy the Dip

When to buy Bitcoin? This is the eternal question. What we can be sure of at the time of writing is that, at under $30k USD, Bitcoin has not been this cheap since July 2021. Within four months, it had doubled in value.

Without a crystal ball, we cannot predict whether BTC will soar once again. But what is certain is that, if it does, only those investors ‘HODLing’ (Holding On for Dear Life) will benefit. We recommend buying the Bitcoin dip with a small fraction of your available funds as a speculative investment.

2: Bitcoin — The Top Crypto

Bitcoin is the top crypto. Back in 2013, it was the first crypto ever to come to market. With a market capitalisation currently of approximately $600bn, BTC comprises over 40% of the $1.3 trillion crypto sector.

Bitcoins’ dominance of the crypto sector means that it is always the first crypto to register positive sentiment towards crypto.

Recently, the Bitcoin price dipped because of unfavourable regulation launched in New York State and negative comments regarding the entire US economy from investment bank JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon.

But when the US Federal Exchange’s programme of Quantitative Tightening comes to an end, it is likely that big money from institutions will buoy the crypto sector once more. If and when the Ukraine crisis comes to an end too will the prospects for Bitcoin improve, as markets tend to be edgy during times of geopolitical disturbance.

More Bitcoin ATMs than Ever Before

Critics of Bitcoin said it would never catch on. That is not borne out by global interest in BTC.

Not only has BTC now been adopted by two entire nations as legal currency: El Salvador and the Central African Republic. But Bitcoin infrastructure is growing in the key market of the US. By the end of 2021, there were over 50,000 Bitcoin ATMs in the US, compared to under 30,000 at the start of the year (data from howmanybitcoinatms.com).

Cheap to Send Bitcoin Online

The average transaction fee to send Bitcoin is currently just $2.025 USD.

That applies to transactions from anywhere in the world, including Egypt.

The average Ethereum transaction fee, by contrast, is today just under $10 USD, having soared above the $50 mark earlier this year.

(In the past, specifically 2017-2018 and 2021, Bitcoin transaction fees climbed to over $50 too.)

Remember that the Level 2 Lightning Network allows for cheaper and faster Bitcoin transactions.

Beat Inflation with Bitcoin

Price inflation is sweeping the globe. Some countries, like the Lebanon and Sri Lanka, face catastrophe because of it.

In Egypt, inflation was up 13% year-on-year in April 2022.

Because crypto like Bitcoin can lose its value as well as gain, it is not the perfect hedge against cash losing its value because of price inflation. But many investors prefer to hold their savings in Bitcoin rather than trust in their native currency if the latter is showing signs of serious fragility.

Unlike cash, the value of Bitcoin cannot be diluted due to over-supply. That is because there is a capped supply of 21 million Bitcoins, with 91% in circulation.

Ways of Buying Bitcoin

Generally, investors wanting to buy Bitcoin in Egypt will find that paying via one of the mobile phone payment systems — like Vodafone Cash Payment or Orange Money — is a popular work-around to the pressure on crypto trading in Egypt.

Buying Bitcoin with PayPal

The P2P platforms offered by giant exchange Binance and dedicated P2P provider Paxful allow investors who want to buy Bitcoin in Egypt to do so using PayPal.

The simplest way to buy Bitcoin with PayPal is to purchase it direct from within the PayPal wallet. (But users report high fees and low flexibility with this method.)

Buy Bitcoin with Credit Card or Debit Card

Binance and Crypto.com offer credit and debit card purchase on Bitcoin, depending on the country of residence of the buyer. Where credit card or debit card purchase of Bitcoin is accessible, rates are generally high: at 2-3% commission on each trade.

Bitcoin Price

The Bitcoin price currently stands at $29,626.

This means that the BTC price has fallen below the $30,000 USD threshold:

• Some analysts consider this to be a ‘bear’ indicator, meaning the Bitcoin price will continue to fall.
• Other analysts, however, suggest that below this support level there is a bounce waiting. This is because investors having gone short on Bitcoin will be tempted to take profit, meaning that they will have to buy their shares back, thus creating demand and supporting a price rise.

Bitcoin Price: Falls Below $30,000 on News from New York State

Bitcoin’s very recent fall below this $30,000 price support level happened because of news from New York State in the US.

Here the State Senate approved a bill previously passed by the State Assembly which targets Bitcoin mining on environmental grounds.

The Bill stipulates that no new Bitcoin mining operations may be set up in-state in the next two years — although existing operations will be allowed to continue.

The US is taking over from China as the country most involved in Bitcoin mining.

• Data from Statista.com suggests that 38% of all Bitcoin mining in January 2022 took place in the US, compared to 21% in China.
• Bitcoin miners are attracted to New York State in particular because, thanks to its hydro-electric infrastructure, the energy required for Proof-of-Work Bitcoin mining is cheap.

Bitcoin Price Prediction

Since falling below the $30,000 threshold, the BTC price has not dropped further — as many analysts had feared.

Technical charting suggests that Bitcoin was doomed, with the next available price support ranged around the $20,000 mark.

But technical charting, which originated with conventional stocks, rarely accounts for the highly volatile nature of the crypto sector. No analyst, for example, predicted that the Bitcoin price would rise for the first three months of the year, and then fall steadily throughout April and May.

Although some online platforms predict a possible price of Bitcoin around the $50k mark in a year’s time, a conservative 1 year target of $35k is more viable.

How to Buy Bitcoin Safely

Arguably the safest way to speculate on the price of Bitcoin is to do so without buying any Bitcoin at all. With international broker Capital.com, investors can use CFDs (Contracts-For-Difference) to bet on the price of Bitcoin without actually owning any. Capital.com is a reputable broker with extensive global regulation.

Otherwise the safest way to buy Bitcoin is to buy it direct from an established exchange. This many not be possible for some investors wanting to buy Bitcoin in Egypt.

The next best thing is to use the P2P platforms provided by giant exchange Binance, or the dedicated P2P platform Paxful established by Egyptian/US CEO Ray Youssef.

With a Peer-2-peer platform, investors can trade Bitcoin and numerous other crypto direct with other investors. However, this is riskier than trading direct with an exchange: if the trade is not honoured, there is little capacity for recourse. The safe thing to do is to choose a P2P vendor with a high completion/safety rate.

The screenshot below is taken from Binance’s P2P platform. It shows some Bitcoin options for investors wanting to pay in Egyptian Pounds.

• Note that the the third vendor on the list ‘Dr Bitcoin’ boasts a completion rate of 100% over 459 orders.
• The top vendor on the list ‘–ENG_AYA_EXCHANGE–‘ offers a lower price for Bitcoin but a completion rate of only 92.61%.

With P2P trading, a low completion rate does not necessarily mean that the vendor is at fault; on occasion, trades fall through because the buyer backs out or the payment method fails.

How to Buy Bitcoin in Egypt — Tutorial

Investors wanting to buy Bitcoin in Egypt will need to sign up with an online exchange. This is a straightforward process. To begin, investors will need internet access and a smartphone.

Here we outline how the sign-up process works with giant international exchange Binance, which is accessible from Egypt. The investor looking to buy Bitcoin in Egypt needs only follow three steps:

1. Sign up with Binance.
2. Get Verified.
3. Proceed to Trading.

1: Sign up with Binance

1. Head to www.Binance.com.
2. Sign up via Apple/Google or with your phone or email.

The new user will now need to fill in some personal details.

2: Get Verified

The automated Binance process now asks that users upload a photographed form of ID:

The new Binance user will also need to take a smartphone ‘selfie’ for facial recognition purposes:

Once these files have been uploaded, Binance gets back to the new user via email to confirm that verification has been successful.

3: Proceed to Trading

Depending on the investor’s country of origin, funds may now be deposited direct with Binance.

Otherwise, investors may log in and proceed to Binance’s P2P trading hub. Here investors wanting to buy Bitcoin in Egypt can track down some deals with third-parties and use a variety of external payment methods to fund transactions.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

How to Sell Bitcoin

• If an investor has bought Bitcoin direct from an exchange like Binance, Crypto.com or Coinbase, the Bitcoin can be sold at any time back to the exchange.
• If the Bitcoin has been bought via P2P trading, the same P2P platform may be used to post an offer to sell. Be sure to read the terms and conditions of P2P platforms, as often trading activity is neither guaranteed by the host platform or regulated.
• Otherwise, Bitcoin held in a non-custodial wallet (ie. a crypto wallet to which only the owner has the keys) may be sold or exchanged via a variety of online Decentralised Exchanges (DEXs).

Conclusion

Above we have delved into the prospects for Bitcoin in the future, as well as reviewed six top vendors. Of these, we conclude that:

• Big exchanges Crypto.com and Coinbase offer slick packages for international investors.
• Capital.com, the only out-and-out-broker on our list, offers handy CFD trading but no prospect of owning the underlying Bitcoin.
• Serving the MENA region, Bitoasis claims to be accessible to Egyptian investors, but only SAR and AED currency is welcome.
• Egyptian-led Paxful offers an impressive P2P trading platform where Bitcoin is available to Egyptian investors.

We particularly recommend giant exchange Binance.

Offering powerful trading and staking options, Binance is of special interest to investors wanting to buy Bitcoin in Egypt thanks to its flexible P2P trading platform. Here buyers can trade Bitcoin for Egyptian pounds with literally hundreds of payment methods viable, including the popular Vodafone Cash, PayPal and Orange Pay.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. 

FAQS: Buy Bitcoin in Egypt