Egyptian users using the ISP provider, TE data (Egyptian Telecommunication Company) are experiencing a block in the last period that does not allow them to reach the main exchanges in the crypto world such as Binance, Coinbase, Bitfinex, Kraken and Bitstamp.
In fact, an ISP (Internet Service Provider) has the ability to filter users’ outgoing connections and block certain addresses, as if it were a real blacklist, preventing users from visiting certain domains.
In these cases, the only solution that can be adopted is to use a VPN service that allows to change the IP of the country and therefore operate normally.
Of course, this system entails risks and additional costs for the end-user, since the information passes through the VPN that reads the content, which is very risky if we move to the crypto environment since both the exchange platform credentials and public and private keys can be retrieved.
The ban, however, does not seem to affect other platforms such as Poloniex, Huobi, Bittrex, Kucoin and Gemini.
Let’s not forget that in Egypt there is strong censorship for all articles and websites identified as being contrary to the government and it seems that this ban also comes from the government.
In fact, the telephone company is owned by the government and therefore it is possible that it has been influenced by this very affiliation.
Egypt: what is the purpose of blocking exchanges?
Freedom of expression can certainly be very easily restricted in Egypt, as well as economic control to exert strong pressure on the population, which would be practically impossible if all citizens used only crypto as a form of exchange.
In the past, the telephone company redirected Internet traffic to portals of dubious reliability that used scripts to mine cryptocurrencies without the users’ knowledge, a clear sign of how it was exploiting its customers to gain an advantage, in this case by collecting crypto.
Finally, it should be noted that in the country any activities related to the crypto and blockchain world are banned.
All companies in the country must have a license to operate, a license issued by the Central Bank of Egypt.