Myanmar’s shadow government backs launch of crypto-based bank
Myanmar’s first entirely crypto-based banking institution has announced a soft launch for July 22 — a move that could see the country’s shadow government given greater access to financial services and funding.
The Spring Development Bank is named after the Spring Revolution, the opposition movement led by Myanmar’s exiled National Unity Government (NUG) against the ruling State Administration Council (SAC) — a military junta that seized control of the country in February 2021.
The bank’s target demographic isn’t just the 55 million Burmese living in Myanmar, but also the two-million-strong “Burmese diaspora”, who live and work outside of Myanmar and frequently send money back to the country.
Constructed on Polygon, the bank’s main goal is to make both domestic and international payments faster and more efficient, as well as offer international access to a broad array of financial products.
A Spring Development Bank official who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons told Cointelegraph that crypto was the obvious solution to provide financial support to Burmese citizens as well as its exiled government.
The new crypto bank was not launched directly by the NUG, but the official noted it has been launched with its full support and resources. Additionally, the bank is licensed and regulated by the NUG-controlled interim central bank of Myanmar.
The bank’s CEO, who goes by the name Calvin T for security reasons, told Cointelegraph that the launch of the new institution signaled the first step in returning financial freedom to Myanmar.
Tin Tun Naing, the governor of Myanmar’s interim central bank and acting minister for finance and industry, described the bank as a fundamentally “revolutionary” institution.
Naing claimed
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