Egyptian Exchange (EGX) Deputy Head Mohsen Adel said that there is a great interest to study Bitcoin in Egypt, as there is an urgent need for this kind of currency. Adel told Daily News Egypt that dealing in this currency will lead to a bubble and speculation on it is unsafe due to there being no clear and obvious mechanism to price the currency, which makes it inapplicable in some markets. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, as it is an account code built through a block chain system and there is no body to regulate this currency. However, it is considered an electronic protocol and was launched by an anonymous person, Adel said. Adel added that the idea of this currency deserves studying, but the absence of a controlling entity, or any official entity that can issue it, leads the currency to be easily stolen. Adel added, during a seminar called Digital Money, Economic Impacts and Potential Risks, that the issuance of Bitcoins will stop at 21m. So far, only 16m Bitcoins have been issued. "We do not know when to issue the rest of the 21m Bitcoins," noted Adel. "The currency is not currently subject to any control and there is an ongoing case in American courts over the possibility of Bitcoin financing terrorist operations." He pointed out that Bitcoin was launched in 2008 and was traded in 2009 at a price of only 9 US cents. Adel added that the encryption numbers of Bitcoin, if cracked or penetrated, a person can lose all their money. The rate of consumption of electricity to modify Bitcoins consumes 0.1% of worldwide electricity consumption and the cost of modifying Bitcoins annually is $1.6bn, according to Adel. Adel added that the cost of a single transaction is $25, noting that 35 websites and e-gaming shops stopped trading in the cryptocurrency. "The value of daily trading in the currency is $231bn. We consider dealing in it a big bubble and speculating on it is unsafe," Adel said. "The global banking sector is no longer able to keep up with the developments in digital currencies. There are 65 currencies in the form of Bitcoin, including 10 currencies known globally and the rest of the currencies are not known and widespread. Bitcoin represents 62% of dealing in currencies that are globally encrypted." There are some famous international companies that accept Bitcoin, such as Mircosoft, PayPal, Tesla, Intuit, Dish network, Expedia, Subway, Dell, WordPress, and Newegg. In addition, Wikipedia accepts donations in bitcoin. The current exchange rate of Bitcoin is $14,547, however, the currency witnessed a sharp decline last week to less than $13,000 on Friday, which is considered a one-third loss of its value within five days only, its biggest decline since 2013. However, before the decline, the cryptocurrency's exchange rate peaked at $20,000 on 17 December.
