Myanmar embraces Tether

Myanmar’s parallel government, The National Unity Government (NUG) has decided to use USDT as an official currency. NUG announced Tether’s crypro asset as an official currency for local use in an official Facebook post. The finance minister claimed that USDT would offer much-needed trade and transaction efficiency. According to them, it shows the strength of the United States dollar and is able to provide a safe haven to citizens of the world. It’s interesting to note that this decision stands in opposition to the crypto ban instituted by the ruling government. The NUG political group stated that it will accept Tether’s USDT planning to raise money for its campaign to overthrow the ruling military regime in Myanmar.

In May 2020 the same group intended to ban cryptocurrencies. However, the stablecoin’s utility has made the shadow government embrace USDT. Besides, the increased levels of privacy in stablecoins have increased the interest of leaders of the group. The National Unity Government has previously raised the sum of $9.5 million and nurses the aim of raising $1 billion from the sale of NUG bonds.

The Finance Minister of the NUG stated that the main reason for the adoption of USDT is “domestic use to make it easy and speed up the current trade, services, and payment systems.” Already, the group is organizing lectures and distributing materials to members explaining the basics of cryptocurrencies to them and how to use USDT.

The decision to adopt USDT came as a surprise to many given its issuer Tether has been involved in controversial rumors for quite a long time time. There have been serious allegations of mismanagement of funds and the backings of the current circulation supply of USDT. Tether was recently fined by Commodity Futures Trading Commission in line with $41 million penalties for misleading claims that its stablecoin was fully backed by US dollars.

The NUG government is recognized by the European Union and the French state, however, its recent adoption of USDT could trigger a debate among nations, especially the United States which is looking to introduce strict stablecoin issuance policies.