Egypt CBDC Tracker

Egypt is currently in the pilot phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) development. The Central Bank of Egypt has repeatedly said that one of the main reasons it is interested in a CBDC (sometimes called the E-Pound) is to use it as a tool to stop the use of cryptocurrencies.

Current human rights and civil liberties concerns in Egypt include oppression and widespread corruption. For example, Freedom House has reported that “activists, opposition parties, and political movements that criticize the regime face arrests, harsh prison terms, death sentences, extrajudicial violence, and other forms of pressure.” A CBDC could be used as another tool in this effort. Across the world, governments have often turned to freezing and seizing the money of activists, political rivals, and protestors to undermine the opposition. A CBDC would make such initiatives easier by allowing governments to take direct control of each citizen’s finances.

CBDC History and Development

In its 2021 financial stability report, the Central Bank of Egypt briefly noted that it was “studying the implications of the central bank digital currencies.” When explaining why, the central bank said that it was doing so to “complement the steps taken… against the spread and trading of cryptocurrencies.”

In 2022, the Central Bank of Egypt’s financial stability report maintained its position that it was interested in launching a CBDC as a step “against the spread and circulation of cryptocurrency.”

In 2023, the Central Bank of Egypt’s financial stability report noted that the central bank had continued to study “the implementation of CBDCs… as an alternative to other types of cryptocurrencies and their risks.”

In early 2024, the Egyptian government published a strategic plan for 2024-2030. One piece of that plan was the planned launch of a CBDC by 2030 “to support the competitiveness of the national currency and increase the efficiency of monetary policy.” The report later claimed that the CBDC “will raise financial inclusion to 100% by 2030” and “increase the number of digital financial wallets to approximately 80 million by 2030 to support inclusive economic growth.”

The Central Bank of Egypt’s 2024 financial stability report noted that the central bank is “exploring and developing central bank digital currencies.” The report later explained that the central bank had completed the first phase of its CBDC study. With the results of this study in hand, the Central Bank of Egypt “started to prepare for the POC phase, which extends to the practical beside the theoretical study to explore the viability of launching the digital currency and its implementation method, as well as preparing the necessary skills and expertise within the departments associated with the project.”

In early July 2025, the Central Bank of Egypt announced an agreement with the People’s Bank of China. According to the Central Bank of Egypt, the agreement “includes provisions to strengthen cooperation on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC).”

Speaking at the 2025 Association of African Central Banks conference later in July 2025, Bank Al-Maghrib governor Abdellatif Jouahri told audiences that Morocco is “currently conducting another experiment, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Egypt and with the support of the World Bank, on the cross-border transfer use case.” The Central Bank of Egypt has not publicly commented on this experiment.

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

Egypt earned an 18 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report. There are substantial concerns across a broad range of issues in Egypt. However, regarding the issuance and use of a CBDC, the most relevant concerns are the oppression of criticism and widespread corruption. Issuing a CBDC could worsen these issues.

“Political parties are legally allowed to form and operate, but in practice, activists, opposition parties, and political movements that criticize the regime face arrests, harsh prison terms, death sentences, extrajudicial violence, and other forms of pressure,” according to Freedom House. For example, “The Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), a prominent human rights group, suspended its Egyptian operations in January because its founder, Gamal Eid, claimed he had experienced years of harassment from authorities, including the freezing of his assets, a travel ban, and physical assault.” The U.S. Department of State said that “there were reports that security agencies regularly placed human rights defenders, political activists, journalists, foreigners, and writers under surveillance; monitored their private communications; screened their correspondence, including email and social media accounts; examined their bank records; searched their persons and homes without judicial authorization; and extrajudicially confiscated personal property.” Unfortunately, a CBDC could be used as another tool in this effort. Across the world, governments have often turned to freezing and seizing the money of activists, political rivals, and protestors to undermine the opposition. A CBDC would make such initiatives easier by allowing governments to take direct control of each citizen’s finances.

“Corruption is pervasive at all levels of government,” according to Freedom House. “Official mechanisms for investigating and punishing corrupt activity remain weak and ineffective.” Additional criticism has said that anti-corruption efforts lack credibility, transparency, and impartiality. The existence of pervasive corruption is a major concern with CBDCs because it calls into question any promises that might be made by the government to limit surveillance, control, or other risks of CBDCs. Furthermore, the existence of corruption calls into question whether CBDC policies might be designed to exert political favoritism through subsidies, price controls, or other targeted restrictions.

For additional information on concerns regarding violations of human rights and civil liberties, see the following reports by Amnesty International, Financial Tyranny Index, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, and the U.S. Department of State. For additional information on concerns regarding the risks of CBDCs, see the following webpage and report by the Cato Institute: The Risks of CBDCs and Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths.

For additional information regarding metrics, the methodology page explains each of the data points and provides their respective sources.