Myanmar: Opposition declares Tether to be a means of payment

Adaptation news with a difference. Because while the ruling military dictatorship has banned cryptocurrencies, the opposition movement has chosen Tether (USDT) as the official currency.

Since the military coup of February 1, 2021, conditions similar to civil war have prevailed in Myanmar. To finance their ongoing resistance to the military junta, the opposition National Unity Government (NUG) recognized the stablecoin tether (USDT) as official currency.

The NUG Finance Minister Tin Tun Naing recently announced the decision to use Tether via Facebook. There he proposed Tether for “domestic use” “to simplify and accelerate current trading, service and payment systems.” The Post does not provide any further details, but it can be assumed that the NUG is looking for secure and private payment systems that are not subject to the supervision of the military regime and its central bank.

With Tether against Myanmar’s military dictatorship

The NUG sees itself as the only legitimate representation of the people of Myanmar. This parallel government emerged from an amalgamation of democratic forces close to the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. After years of peaceful resistance against the then military government, Suu Kyi was instrumental in the democratization process in Myanmar. Most recently she was the de facto head of government. After the military seized power again in February, Suu Kyi is under house arrest. The junta has since been brutal against demonstrators. More than 1,000 people died in the Southeast Asian state in ongoing protests.

The fight against the junta, however, must be financed. The NUG therefore sells so-called “Spring Revolution Special Government Bonds” to citizens of Myanmar who are abroad. According to Bloomberg the parallel government took in $ 9.5 million from the sale within 24 hours. It is unclear how much money the bonds have poured into the NUG coffers since then, but the target amount is one billion US dollars.

It is not entirely clear whether the NUG’s acceptance of Tether is related to the sale of the bonds. However, this cannot be ruled out. The NUG plans to soon offer the bonds for sale within Myanmar as well. Decentralized cryptocurrencies seem to be the right choice for such transactions. With its focus on tether, the NUG continues to oppose the central bank of Myanmar. Under the supervision of the military government, it banned the trading and possession of all cryptocurrencies in May.

The NUG has been recognized by the EU Parliament as the official government of Myanmar. However, this does not involve any financial support. Great Britain and the USA meanwhile impose a few days ago new sanctions against the ruling military regime.