Egypt’s economic growth in the third quarter (Q3) of the current fiscal year has displayed a lower number than projected following the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the same time, data shows that the peer-to-peer Bitcoin volume in the country has registered a fresh all-time high.
According to the information provided by the cryptocurrency statistics platform, CoinDance, the demand for the primary digital asset surged last week in the northeast African country.
Egyptians traded nearly 2.2m EGP for Bitcoin on the popular peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange LocalBitcoins. This set up the new ATH record.
The most recent growth in Bitcoin trading volume has surpassed the previous record registered in mid-March. At the time, the volume accounted for almost 1.3 million EGP traded in a week.
It’s worth noting that the previous ATH came during one of the most volatile weeks in the cryptocurrency market. In one day alone, which later became known as the Black Thursday, Bitcoin plunged from $8,000 to below $4,000. Most altcoins experienced similar losses.
Last week also noted increased levels of fluctuations as the largest digital asset by market cap firstly broke the coveted $10,000 mark before it retraced to $9,100 on most exchanges. Such volatility levels could provoke the increasing trading volumes.
The COVID-19 pandemic had its toll on Egypt with over 35,000 confirmed cases at the time of this writing. The number of deaths is approaching 1,300.
To fight the spread of the virus, Egypt, similarly to most nations, initiated lockdowns, which impacted its economy as well. The country’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development recently admitted that the COVID-19 had caused a slowdown in some economic activities. Those include tourism, manufacturing, whole, and retail trade.
Ultimately, the nation could not reach its expected 5.9% economic growth in Q3 of the current fiscal year. Nevertheless, Egypt has managed to record a growth level of 5%. According to the Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said, the country’s Q3 results are “the best globally thanks to the economic diversity that helped in attaining positive rates.”
