Leif Ferreira, Koh Onozawa Martinez (co-CEOs since 2024)
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Yes
The Egypt column is checked live against each exchange's restricted-country list.
The best crypto exchanges in Egypt
Bybit is our top pick for traders in Egypt who want low fees and spot, futures, options and copy trading in one account. No exchange holds a licence from the Central Bank of Egypt, which has never issued one, so trading crypto on any of these platforms is not permitted under Egyptian law.
Paying in pounds is the other big hurdle. The Central Bank limits dealing inside Egypt to official currencies, and its payment rules bar merchants signed up through payment facilitators from crypto business. In practice, InstaPay, Meeza cards and mobile wallets are not an approved way onto any exchange. Beyond that, the useful comparisons are fees, the coins and products on offer, and each exchange’s security record.
Bybit puts one of the widest toolkits into a single account: 380 coins on spot, futures on 577 coins at up to 100x leverage, plus options, copy trading, trading bots and a demo mode. If you plan to go beyond simple buying, you won't need a second exchange. It has no licence from the Central Bank of Egypt, so trading here isn't permitted under Egyptian law and no local regulator stands behind your account.
Spot trades cost 0.1% for makers and takers, and futures cost 0.02% for limit orders and 0.055% at market price. Bybit takes cards, bank transfers, Apple Pay, Google Pay and P2P trades, but not InstaPay, Meeza or Egyptian mobile wallets. With the Central Bank limiting dealing inside Egypt to official currencies, there's no approved way to move pounds on or off the platform.
Identity verification is required, and Bybit publishes proof of reserves so you can check that deposits are backed. It launched in 2018, is based in Dubai and is run by CEO Ben Zhou, who co-founded it. In February 2025 hackers took over $1.5 billion from Bybit; users' funds were restored within 72 hours, but the episode shows that anything you leave on an exchange is exposed.
Key points
Bybit has no Central Bank of Egypt licence, so trading on it is not permitted under Egyptian law.
Spot costs 0.1% for makers and takers, and futures run from 0.02% to 0.055%.
You get 380 spot coins, futures, options and copy trading, but no InstaPay, Meeza or mobile wallet funding.
What we like
0.1% spot fee for makers and takers
Futures on 577 coins at up to 100x leverage
Options, copy trading, bots and demo mode
Low futures fees of 0.02% and 0.055%
Publishes proof of reserves
What holds it back
No licence from the Central Bank of Egypt
No InstaPay, Meeza or mobile wallet funding
Lost over a billion dollars to hackers, though users were repaid
Copy trading is Bitget's strongest card: it runs the largest copy trading platform in crypto, so you can mirror experienced traders while you learn. Around it sit 507 spot coins, 478 futures markets with leverage as high as 125x, trading bots and a free demo account. Bitget has no Central Bank of Egypt licence either, which puts trading on it outside what Egyptian law allows and leaves you without local protection.
Spot trades cost 0.1% for makers and takers, less if you pay fees in its BGB token, while a futures limit order costs 0.02% and a market order 0.06%. You can deposit by card, bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay or P2P, but cash-outs run only through crypto, SEPA, Pix or P2P. None of these is InstaPay, Meeza or a mobile wallet, so getting pounds back into an Egyptian account has no direct, approved route.
KYC is mandatory, and Bitget publishes proof of reserves. Bitget dates from 2018, counts Sandra Lou among its co-founders, operates from Singapore and has Gracy Chen in charge as CEO. In September 2026 Bitget reported about $351.6 million in unauthorised transfers from some hot and warm wallets and suspended withdrawals during its investigation; it says its user protection fund of over $464 million covers the loss, but until withdrawals resume you can't take money out.
Key points
Bitget holds no Central Bank of Egypt licence, so you would have no local regulator behind you.
Copy trading, bots and futures on 478 coins make it a strong place to learn from other traders.
Withdrawals were suspended after a September 2026 security incident, so check they have resumed before you send it anything.
Kraken has the longest track record of any exchange here and answers to regulators such as the UK's Financial Conduct Authority, Canada's FINTRAC and Australia's AUSTRAC, so it is used to strict outside oversight. None of those licences covers Egypt, where the Central Bank has never licensed an exchange, so that oversight doesn't make trading on Kraken permitted under Egyptian law.
The spot market covers 679 coins and the futures side 177, with leverage capped at 50x, though there's no copy trading or bots. Spot is expensive at 0.4% for makers and 0.8% for takers, while futures fall to 0.02% and 0.05%. Kraken accepts cards, bank transfers, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay but not InstaPay, Meeza or mobile wallets, so there's no local pound rail to lean on.
Verification is required, and Kraken publishes proof of reserves and keeps coins in cold storage. Founded in 2011 and based in San Francisco, USA, it is run by CEO David Ripley and was co-founded by Jesse Powell. The main catch is cost: at those spot rates, small regular purchases lose noticeably more to fees than they would at Bybit or Binance.
Key points
Kraken is licensed in several major markets, but none of those licences covers Egypt.
Spot fees of 0.4% and 0.8% are high, while futures are cheap at 0.02% and 0.05%.
It lists 679 spot coins but takes no InstaPay, Meeza or mobile wallet payments.
Binance has the deepest liquidity of any exchange, so large orders fill close to the price on your screen. You get 507 coins to buy outright, 525 futures markets where leverage reaches 150x, options on 8 coins, P2P trading and a demo account. Lacking any licence from Egypt's central bank, though, it can't lawfully serve you, and your deposits sit beyond the reach of any Egyptian authority.
Spot trades cost 0.1% for makers and takers, up to 25% less when you pay fees in BNB, and futures run 0.02% per limit order and 0.05% per market order. Money goes in by bank transfer, card, Google Pay, SWIFT or P2P and comes out by bank transfer or P2P. InstaPay, Meeza and mobile wallets aren't among those options, so pounds have no official path in or out.
KYC is required, Binance backs users with a $1 billion security fund, and it publishes proof of reserves. Binance launched in 2017 under co-founder Changpeng Zhao, has its base in the Cayman Islands and today has Richard Teng as CEO. The interface is dense and can slow down when markets swing hard, so beginners may struggle exactly when speed matters most.
Key points
Binance has no Central Bank of Egypt licence, so trading on it is not permitted in Egypt.
Spot costs 0.1% for makers and takers, with a discount for paying in BNB.
Liquidity is the deepest available, but the busy interface is hard going for beginners.
If you've never bought crypto before, Coinbase is the easiest place to start, because a first purchase takes a few taps. It is a publicly listed company that holds coins in cold storage and publishes proof of reserves, so its finances face public scrutiny. Still, Egypt's central bank has never licensed it, which means using it puts you on the wrong side of Egyptian law with no local recourse.
Coinbase lists 402 coins for spot trading and 131 for futures, where leverage tops out at 10x, with no copy trading, bots or P2P. Spot fees are steep: makers pay 0.4% and takers 0.6%, while futures cost 0.05% for makers and takers. Deposits go by card or PayPal and withdrawals by bank transfer or SWIFT, with nothing for InstaPay, Meeza or Egyptian wallets, so moving pounds is the hard part.
Identity checks are required at sign-up. Brian Armstrong co-founded Coinbase in 2012 and still runs it as CEO, and the company works remotely without a main headquarters. In 2021 hackers got into more than 6,000 customer accounts, so turn on two-factor authentication and an address whitelist from day one.
Key points
Coinbase holds no Central Bank of Egypt licence, so trading on it is not permitted under Egyptian law.
Spot fees of 0.4% and 0.6% are among the highest here, though futures cost 0.05%.
It is the simplest option for a first purchase, but it offers no P2P and no pound payment route.
What we like
Easiest exchange for a first purchase
Publicly listed with proof of reserves
Cold storage for customer coins
Flat futures fee of 0.05%
What holds it back
High spot fees
No copy trading, bots or peer-to-peer
No licence from the Central Bank of Egypt
Thousands of customer accounts were breached in the past
Active futures traders get the most from OKX: its 485 futures markets, with leverage to 125x, charge 0.02% on limit orders versus 0.05% on market orders, and options plus portfolio margin let you hedge in one account. That keeps costs low if you trade often. OKX is unlicensed in Egypt, so trading there isn't permitted and you'd rely entirely on OKX's own rules if a dispute came up.
Spot trading across its 298 coins is pricier, charging makers 0.2% and takers 0.35%. Deposits run through cards, bank transfers and P2P, and withdrawals add PayPal and crypto ATMs, but InstaPay, Meeza and Egyptian mobile wallets aren't part of it. With local dealing limited to official currencies, that leaves no sanctioned way to use pounds.
KYC is mandatory and copy trading plus a demo mode help newer users; OKX also shows its proof of reserves publicly. Co-founder Star Xu serves as CEO of OKX, which launched in 2017 and has its headquarters in Seychelles. The platform is complex for beginners, which makes costly leverage mistakes easier, and its only recorded breach hit its separate DEX in 2023, when $2.7 million was drained through a compromised admin key, so its on-chain tools carry their own risk.
Key points
OKX has no Central Bank of Egypt licence, so trading on it is not permitted in Egypt.
Futures at 0.02% and 0.05% are cheap, but spot costs up to 0.35%.
Options and portfolio margin suit experienced traders, while beginners may find the platform hard to follow.
No exchange here lists more coins or charges less than MEXC: 1,320 spot coins, 614 futures markets with leverage up to 200x, and spot fees of 0% to place an order on the book and 0.05% to fill one instantly. Futures charge just 0% when you place a limit order and 0.02% when you buy at market price, which suits traders chasing new tokens that often list here first.
MEXC has no approval from Egyptian regulators, which leaves you trading outside Egyptian law with nobody local to appeal to. Cards, bank transfers, PayPal and P2P cover deposits, but at the basic verification level fiat moves only through P2P, and InstaPay, Meeza and Egyptian wallets aren't on offer. That means there's no approved pound route at any level.
KYC is required for every account, and MEXC publishes proof of reserves with most holdings in cold storage. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Singapore, MEXC is led by co-founder and CEO John Chen. Its reputation is the real worry: there are many reported cases of MEXC withholding customer funds, so getting your money out isn't guaranteed.
Key points
MEXC holds no Central Bank of Egypt licence, so trading on it is not permitted in Egypt.
It has the most coins and the lowest fees here, with spot from 0% and futures from 0%.
Many reports of withheld customer funds mean you should not leave more on it than you are actively trading.
Bit2Me keeps things simple: it is a spot-only exchange with 192 coins and no futures, copy trading or bots. If you only want to buy and hold, that removes the pull of leverage, which can wipe out a balance fast.
Egypt's central bank has never licensed Bit2Me, meaning buying through it isn't permitted locally and no Egyptian body oversees it. Egypt's payment rules also bar merchants signed up through payment facilitators from crypto business, so don't expect to pay with Meeza, InstaPay or a mobile wallet.
KYC is required, coins sit in cold storage, and a debit card lets you spend crypto. Founded in 2014 and based in Elche, Spain, Bit2Me was co-founded by Leif Ferreira and Andrei Manuel and is run by co-CEOs Leif Ferreira and Koh Onozawa Martinez. It doesn't publish proof of reserves, so you can't check that customer deposits are fully backed.
Key points
Bit2Me has no Central Bank of Egypt licence, so buying through it is not permitted in Egypt.
It offers 192 coins on spot only, with no futures, copy trading or bots.
It publishes no proof of reserves, so you have no way to check that deposits are fully backed.
What we like
Simple spot-only platform
192 spot coins
Cold storage for coins
Debit card for spending crypto
What holds it back
No proof of reserves
No futures, copy trading or bots
No licence from the Central Bank of Egypt
How we ranked these exchanges
Our editorial team selected, tested and ranked the best crypto exchanges for traders in Egypt. We picked exchanges that accept users in Egypt and ordered them on the whole package rather than on any single figure. The order is our editors’ judgment of that package, while the CWR Score on each card rates the exchange on its own, so a lower-placed exchange can carry a higher score.
Regulation, and whether any licence covers Egypt
Funding and withdrawals, and how they fit with Egyptian pound payments
Spot and futures trading fees
What you can trade: coins, futures, options and other products
Security record, including hacks and proof of reserves
Is crypto trading legal in Egypt?
No, not without a licence from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), and the CBE says it has never issued one. Article 206 of the Central Bank and Banking Sector Law (Law No. 194 of 2020, published on 15 September 2020) prohibits issuing crypto, trading in it, promoting it, setting up or running platforms for trading it, or carrying out related activities without a licence from the CBE’s board. Article 225 punishes a breach with imprisonment and a fine of 1 million to 10 million Egyptian pounds, or one of the two.
That means no crypto exchange is licensed to operate in Egypt. The CBE warned the public against dealing in any kind of crypto in January 2018, September 2022 and March 2023, and said in the 2023 statement that no licence has been issued for these activities in the Egyptian market. In May 2025 the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), which supervises non-bank financial markets, also warned citizens against investing in crypto. The law does not name simply holding crypto, and the CBE’s website showed no later statement and no licensing rules for crypto when checked on 6 October 2026.
Buying crypto in Egypt: what the law says
In practice, there is no lawful local route to any crypto exchange from Egypt. Because no platform holds a Central Bank licence, opening an account with one of these exchanges and trading on it means acting outside Egyptian law, and both the Central Bank and the Financial Regulatory Authority have warned people against dealing in crypto. Payment rules also bar merchants signed up through payment facilitators from crypto business, so pound transfers, Meeza cards and mobile wallets are not an approved way in. If something goes wrong, from a frozen withdrawal to a hack, no Egyptian regulator oversees these platforms. Simply holding crypto isn’t named in the law, but that doesn’t make buying or trading it permitted.
Bottom line
Bybit offers the best mix of low fees, product range and a proven response to a crisis, while Binance suits traders who want the deepest liquidity and Kraken suits those who value a long record under strict oversight elsewhere. Bitget’s copy trading is appealing, but check that withdrawals have resumed first, and treat MEXC with real caution given the reports of withheld funds. Whichever you look at, no exchange is licensed in Egypt, so trading on any of them is not permitted under Egyptian law.
Questions
Frequently asked
No, not without a licence from the Central Bank of Egypt, and the Central Bank says it has never issued one. The law bars trading crypto and running crypto trading platforms without that licence, and breaking it can lead to prison, a heavy fine or both. The Central Bank and the Financial Regulatory Authority have both warned the public against dealing in crypto. Simply holding crypto isn't named in the law.
Not through any approved route. The Central Bank limits dealing inside Egypt to official currencies, and its payment rules bar merchants signed up through payment facilitators from crypto business. The exchanges covered here take payments such as cards, bank transfers and P2P trades, but not InstaPay, Meeza or Egyptian mobile wallets.
MEXC charges the least: 0% for spot makers, 0.05% for spot takers, and 0.01% and 0.04% on futures. Its reputation is weak, though, with many reported cases of withheld customer funds. Bybit, Bitget and Binance charge 0.1% on spot for makers and takers, while Kraken and Coinbase are the most expensive for spot trades.
MEXC lists the most, with 1,334 coins on spot, followed by Kraken with 678. Bitget and Binance each offer just over 500, and Bit2Me has the smallest choice at 192 coins with no futures.
In September 2026 Bitget reported about $351.6 million in unauthorised transfers from some hot and warm wallets and suspended withdrawals during its investigation. It says cold wallets and user balances are secure and that its user protection fund of over $464 million covers the loss. Until withdrawals resume, you can't take money out, so check their status before depositing anything.
Every exchange here except Bit2Me publishes proof of reserves, which lets you check that customer deposits are backed by the assets the exchange holds. With Bit2Me you have no way to verify that, even though it keeps coins in cold storage.
Bybit’s global site doesn’t accept customers in
In the EU, Bybit serves customers through a separate platform, Bybit EU, which is licensed under MiCA.
Accepts clients from EgyptAvailable in the EU as Bybit EU 
