On May 15, 2020, Myanmar’s Central Bank dropped a bomb: Central Bank Directive 9/2020. It didn’t just warn people away from Bitcoin or Ethereum-it made owning, buying, or trading any cryptocurrency illegal. Not risky. Not discouraged. Illegal.

At the time, few outside the country paid attention. But this wasn’t just another regulatory notice. It was a desperate move by a government already losing control. And four years later, after a military coup, currency collapse, and internet blackouts, that ban is still on the books. But here’s the twist: more people than ever are breaking it.

What Exactly Did Directive 9/2020 Say?

The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) didn’t mince words. Under Section 40(e) and Section 62 of the Central Bank of Myanmar Law, only the CBM could issue currency. That meant anything digital, decentralized, or foreign-like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, or even Perfect Money-wasn’t money. It was contraband.

The directive banned:

• Buying or selling cryptocurrencies
• Exchanging crypto for kyat or foreign cash
• Using crypto for payments or transfers
• Any financial institution facilitating these transactions

They named names. Bitcoin. Ethereum. USDT. Even Perfect Money, a niche e-wallet used mostly for online gambling and remittances. And they zeroed in on how people were doing it: Facebook pages, personal websites, and informal money changers.

Before 2020, the CBM had said crypto was risky. But no one got fined. No accounts got shut down. Directive 9/2020 changed that. Suddenly, using crypto wasn’t just foolish-it was a criminal act.

How They Tried to Enforce It

The CBM didn’t just issue a warning. They followed up.

In May 2024-exactly four years after the ban-they released another public notice. This one wasn’t a reminder. It was a threat. They said they would:

• Freeze bank accounts of anyone caught trading crypto
• Press criminal charges under the Anti-Money Laundering Law
• Impose fines or jail time

And they did. Reports from legal firms like Tilleke & Gibbins show that local money changers who used USDT to move cash across borders were targeted. Accounts were closed. People were arrested. One case involved a man who converted $5,000 in USDT to kyat through a friend’s shop. He got a six-month sentence.

But here’s the problem: the CBM’s tools are old. They can monitor bank transfers. They can track Facebook ads. But they can’t track Telegram groups. They can’t follow encrypted wallets. They can’t shut down offshore exchanges like Binance or Bybit that operate from outside Myanmar’s borders.

The Real Target: Hundi and Black Market Cash

Directive 9/2020 wasn’t really about Bitcoin. It was about hundi.

Hundi is an informal, centuries-old system of cash transfers-used by migrant workers, traders, and families sending money home. Before crypto, hundi ran on cash couriers and unregistered agents. When the kyat started crashing after the 2021 coup, people needed something faster, safer, and more stable.

USDT became the new hundi.

Instead of sending cash through a smuggler, people sent USDT over Telegram. A buyer in Thailand pays $1,000 in USDT. A seller in Myawaddy gives the equivalent in kyat to a local contact. No bank. No paperwork. No government tracking.

The CBM called it illegal. But it was the only way millions could afford food, medicine, and rent.

The Underground Economy Is Growing

Here’s what the government doesn’t want you to know: crypto use in Myanmar is at an all-time high.

Why? Because the kyat is worthless. In 2020, $1 USD was worth about 1,500 kyat. By 2025, it was over 4,000. Prices doubled. Salaries didn’t. Savings vanished.

People turned to USDT-not to get rich, but to survive. It’s stable. It moves across borders in seconds. You can store it on a phone. You don’t need a bank. You don’t need permission.

Telegram channels like “Myanmar Crypto Deals” and “USDT Kyat Exchange” have thousands of members. Tron-based USDT is the favorite because it’s cheap to transfer. Peer-to-peer trades happen in coffee shops, bus stations, and private homes. No one reports it. No one gets caught.

One trader in Mandalay told a journalist: “I don’t care if it’s illegal. My daughter needs insulin. The hospital won’t take kyat anymore. Only USDT.”

The Opposition’s Countermove

While the military government bans crypto, the opposition National Unity Government (NUG) embraced it.

In December 2021, the NUG declared USDT legal tender in the areas they control. They didn’t stop there. They started building their own digital currency: DMMK (Digital Myanmar Kyat). It’s not Bitcoin. It’s not Ethereum. It’s a state-backed stablecoin designed to pay soldiers, fund hospitals, and pay civil servants-without touching the military’s banking system.

The NUG also built a mobile wallet called “DMMK Wallet.” Simple. Works on low-end phones. No internet? Use SMS. No bank account? No problem.

This is the real war: one side bans digital money. The other side builds its own.

Why the Ban Is Failing

There are three reasons Directive 9/2020 can’t win:

1. Internet shutdowns backfire. The military cuts internet access to stop crypto. But when the internet goes down, so do banks, ATMs, and mobile payments. People turn to crypto even harder when the system collapses.
2. USDT is the only stable currency left. The kyat is in freefall. Cash is scarce. Foreign currency is locked away. USDT is the only thing that holds value.
3. Enforcement is selective. The CBM doesn’t go after students or housewives. They go after money changers. But those changers just move to the next town. The system adapts.

Even the CBM knows it’s losing. Their 2024 notice didn’t promise to stop crypto. It just said they’d keep trying.

What This Means for the Future

Myanmar’s crypto ban isn’t a policy. It’s a symptom.

The country is broken. The economy is shattered. The government can’t control money. So it tries to ban the only thing people still trust.

But history shows you can’t ban technology that solves a real problem. People in Venezuela, Lebanon, and Nigeria didn’t stop using crypto when their governments tried to shut it down. They just got better at hiding it.

Myanmar is the same. The ban will stay on paper. The trading will keep going underground.

Unless the military changes its approach-unless it accepts that crypto isn’t the enemy, but a symptom of a failed system-the ban will keep failing. And the people? They’ll keep using USDT to feed their families, pay their doctors, and survive.

By 2025, Myanmar has one of the highest crypto adoption rates in Southeast Asia-not because people love Bitcoin, but because they have no other choice.