The National Unity Government (NUG), Myanmar’s shadow government led by supporters of the county’s ousted leader Aung San Suu, has officially recognized the USD-backed stablecoin, Tether (USDT) as a national currency rather than the Myanmar Kyat.
USDT to Become Official Currency in Myanmar
In an announcement published on the NUG’s Ministry of Finance’s Facebook page, the adoption of USDT will enable the NUG to continue its ongoing fundraising campaign aimed at combating the current Junta regime in Myanmar, which is a local term for a government led by a committee of military leaders.
Earlier in October, the European Parliament revealed its support for the shadow government, adding that it is the only legitimate representative of Myanmar.
The official announcement, which was published in Burmese, noted that USDT will help “to accelerate the current trading and financial services.”
The announcement also pointed out that USDT will be very beneficial for citizens supporting the NUG since the current military regime controls the central bank and other banks in Myanmar, allowing it to trace any transaction.
In recent months, many citizens have been arrested for sending donations to the NUG People’s Defense Force, the arms wing of the organization.
This latest move to cryptocurrencies comes shortly after the NUG raised $9.5 million from the sale of its “Spring Revolution Special Treasury Bonds”, which was offered to the Myanmar diaspora across the world to help combat the military regime.
A Welcome Development
The majority of the comments under the post saw the adoption of digital currencies as a welcome development.
They expressed their openness to the idea considering the current state of Myanmar Kyat, which is rapidly losing its value. The currency had depreciated by over 60% in September.
However, some are skeptical about the NUG’s choice of digital currency, seeing as USDT has been facing several regulatory woes, following speculation that it is not fully backed by the USD as it claimed.
The U.S. CFTC fined the issuing company, Tether, and its associated crypto exchange, Bitfinex, $42.5 million, earlier in October, for misleading claims.
