Is crypto legal in Myanmar? Rules & regulation (2026)
Crypto is unclear in Myanmar.
Myanmar's Central Bank (CBM) has prohibited all cryptocurrency transactions since May 2019, reaffirmed by Directive 9/2020, and renewed emphatically in November 2025. No licensing framework exists for exchanges, VASPs, custody, or token offerings; enforcement is carried out under the AML Law and Financial Institutions Law with penalties including bank-account closure and imprisonment. Simultaneously, the CBM established a CBDC committee in June 2025 to develop a state digital currency, while a proposed Anti-Online Fraud Bill (May 2026) would introduce sentences of up to life imprisonment for crypto fraud.
Legal framework
Central Bank of Myanmar Directive 9/2020; CBM Law; Financial Institutions Law 2016; Anti-Money Laundering Law
Status by sub-area
Stablecoins
NoneNo stablecoin issuance, authorization, or reserve framework exists. The CBM's blanket prohibition explicitly covers USDT alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum; no reserve-backing, attestation, or redemption-rights regime has been established because no issuance is permitted under current directives.
Exchanges / VASP
NoneNo exchange or VASP licensing regime exists. The CBM has explicitly stated that no financial institution is authorized to offer cryptocurrency services. An informally circulated draft VASP bill from early 2025 would introduce licensing and AML requirements but has not been enacted as of May 2026.
Token Offerings
NoneNo framework for token sales, ICOs, or STOs exists in Myanmar. All digital-asset issuance activities fall under the CBM's blanket prohibition; no securities-law provisions, prospectus requirements, or investor-exemption carve-outs for token offerings have been established.
Custody
NoneNo qualified-custodian or crypto-custody regulatory framework exists in Myanmar. Since all crypto services are prohibited, no rules on client-asset segregation, proof-of-reserves, safeguarding obligations, or insurance for digital assets have been published.
DeFi
NoneNo DeFi-specific regulatory framework exists. The CBM's blanket prohibition applies to all crypto transactions without distinguishing centralized from decentralized protocols; DeFi lending, yield farming, and on-chain interactions are implicitly prohibited activities.
Tax
UnclearMyanmar has issued no official tax guidance specific to crypto assets. General income tax (progressive rates) and capital gains tax apply under the Income Tax Law, but since crypto is prohibited the legal status of taxable gains is ambiguous. A draft VASP bill informally circulated in early 2025 reportedly included withholding-tax provisions for OTC swaps, but no legislation has been enacted.
Key points: crypto & digital assets in Myanmar
CBM blanket prohibition (2019-2020)
The CBM declared all crypto transactions, buying, selling, trading, and transferring, illegal via a May 2019 state-media announcement and Directive 9/2020. No financial institution is authorised to deal in digital currencies, and no licences will be issued.
November 2025 renewed warning
On 16 November 2025, the CBM reiterated its prohibition on trading, transferring, storing, and hoarding crypto assets, citing price volatility, hacking risk, and links to money laundering, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.
Active enforcement
The CBM closed over 200 bank accounts linked to crypto transactions within a single week in 2024. Violators face prosecution under the Anti-Money Laundering Law and the Financial Institutions Law, with penalties ranging from fines to multi-year imprisonment.
Proposed Anti-Online Fraud Bill (May 2026)
A draft bill unveiled 15 May 2026 and due for parliamentary consideration in June 2026 would impose 10 years to life imprisonment for 'digital currency fraud,' and the death penalty for coercing victims into scam operations, among the harshest crypto-related penalties globally.
CBDC development initiative (June 2025)
On 24 June 2025 the CBM established a Central Committee for the Issuance of a Central Bank Digital Currency (digital kyat), tasked with researching CBDC models and testing secure digital payment systems, framed explicitly as the state-controlled alternative to private crypto.
Opposition NUG adopted USDT (2021)
The internationally recognised opposition National Unity Government declared Tether (USDT) an official currency in December 2021 for fundraising purposes, directly opposing the junta's prohibition. However, the NUG controls no territory within Myanmar, limiting practical effect.
Sources
- gnlm.com.mm/cbm-issues-warnings-against-use-of-illegal-crypto-assets/
- eng.mizzima.com/2025/11/23/28448
- tilleke.com/insights/myanmar-affirms-cryptocurrency-controls/20/
- tilleke.com/insights/myanmars-central-bank-issues-further-warning-against-crypto-
- tilleke.com/insights/cryptocurrency-regulations-mainland-southeast-asia/
- asianews.network/central-bank-of-myanmar-says-unauthorised-trading-transfer-storage-an
- theblock.co/amp/post/401468/myanmar-bill-proposes-death-penalty-for-scam-coercion
- dig.watch/updates/myanmar-impose-harsh-penalties-for-crypto-fraud
- tether.io/news/tether-responds-to-myanmar-adoption-of-usdt-as-official-currency
- mondaq.com/fin-tech/1711008/myanmar-affirms-cryptocurrency-controls
- freemanlaw.com/cryptocurrency/myanmar/
- cryptobriefing.com/myanmars-exiled-government-declares-tether-official-currency/
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Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026