Suu Kyi held office in Myanmar from 2016 after spending more than a decade under house arrest before being ousted in February. Last week she was found guilty of fomenting dissent against military rule and jailed for two years. 

Tether has claimed it has reserves to back up every one of its $77bn of digital coins in circulation, although critics say it has failed to provide proof. 

The cryptocurrency company behind Tether was forced to pay $41m to US authorities over statements it made claiming its currency was fully backed by dollar reserves, but it has never admitted wrongdoing.

Central banks have expressed concerns that stablecoins, which have little transparency or regulation, could threaten cryptocurrency markets and cause billions in losses for retail investors if one were to collapse.

The Financial Stability Board, a global body set up to co-ordinate bank regulation following the financial crisis, has called for the coins to be formally regulated like banks by backing up their digital coins with concrete assets.

The decision by Myanmar’s opposition to adopt a cryptocurrency as its official tender follows moves by El Salvador to make Bitcoin legal currency in September, despite concerns that digital coins are used to fuel dark web crime and sanctions avoidance.