Egypt has been in the news again in the first days of 2018, with various reports relating how its top religious law official has issued a fatwa against trading in Bitcoin. The fatwa was issued on New Year's Day by the Grand Mufti, Sheikh Shawki Allam, who stated that Bitcoin trading was considered "unlawful" according to Sharia law because it is not an "acceptable interface of exchange."

In common with other governments and financial institutions around the world, Allam also expressed concerns about the potential threat of digital currency for money laundering, as it is not subject to any form of government regulation, suggesting that the trading of Bitcoin could even help to undermine the country's economy.

The Egyptian imam states that traders in Bitcoin could be legally unsafe, and further, that Sharia law forbids its use because it harms "individuals, groups, and institutions." The fatwa lays out in no uncertain terms the Grand Mufti's belief that Bitcoin's risks include "fraudulence, lack of knowledge, and cheating." One of his advisers went further, according to a report by the BBC, saying that the cryptocurrency is "used directly to fund terrorists."

Some experts consider that the payment system is Halal (permissible, as opposed to forbidden), but not functional as currency under Sharia law, as it is not a commodity of intrinsic value.