Parallel government in Myanmar creates own digital currency

Bangkok, Jun 21 (EFE).- The self-proclaimed legitimate government of Myanmar, made up of politicians and pro-democracy activists after the military coup of 2021, announced Tuesday the creation of its own digital currency, available through its own mobile payment system.

Sources from the Government of National Unity (NUG) told EFE that they have been working on this move for weeks and that they plan to launch the first batch of coins by the end of this month.

The currency Digital Myanmar Kyat or DMMK will have its value linked to the Kyat and can be used both in the country and abroad through the application NUGPay.

This new currency, which uses blockchain technology, is linked to an existing physical currency and will be backed by a central bank set up by the parallel government itself, although it has no international recognition.

The use of cryptocurrencies is not new to the NUG, which announced last December that it would recognize the use of the Tether currency to circumvent the restrictions imposed by the military junta in power and to be able to conduct transactions quickly.

The NUGPay payment system is available in Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States and is expected to be extended to other countries in the near future.

The creation of its own digital currency is a further step in the intention of the NUG to form a parallel state structure, just as it has done in recent months with the creation of its own armed forces and police.

The NUG also launched a fundraising campaign last year in the absence of a system of tax revenues.

Since the NUG’s formation last year, two months after the coup on Feb. 1, it has tried to gain influence within and outside the country, which has been devastated by a serious economic, political and social crisis, open civil war zones between the Army and the insurgent forces.

The military junta has termed members of the NUG as terrorists.

The parallel government consists mostly of former members of the National League for Democracy – the party of the deposed and imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi -, which had won a landslide in the legislative elections just three months before the coup. EFE

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