A trial conducted in the first week of June 2021 handed out 40 million renminbi (the official title of the Chinese currency, of which the yuan is a unit), or $6.2 million, in digital currency to citizens in Beijing, where each packet contained around 200 yuan ($31).ĭistribution of the currency will be conducted via a two-tier system, which will entail the PBOC distributing the digital yuan to commercial banks.
These trials took place in the form of a public lottery earlier in 2021, with authorities giving away new year’s ‘digital red packets’ with eCNY worth around $30. Now, the trials for the currency have been expanded to China’s bigger cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Two years later, a division called The Digital Currency Research Institute was created which, in 2020, began trials of the eCNY in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiongan and Chengdu. How did this digitalisation come about? Shortly after Bitcoin gained traction in the People’s Republic of China, in 2014, its central bank-the People’s Bank of China (PBOC)-set up an internal group to work on the development of a national digital currency. As of now, no official launch date has been announced for the digital currency, although speculation says China wishes to have everyone use the eCNY for transactions by next year’s Winter Olympics. The currency in question is a digital version of China’s national currency, the yuan, called eCNY or digital CNY (Chinese yuan). This is not exactly a new currency, but a rather new form of an existing one. One country leaving most of the world far behind in this digital race has been China. Meanwhile, the United States has conducted preliminary research and plans on engaging the public with the digital dollar later this year. For example, the Bahamas launched the ‘ Sand Dollar’ in October 2020, and Sweden has been conducting real-world trials of a digital krona. Since 2020, more than 60 countries have researched and experimented with the idea of a national digital currency. Nonetheless, despite the esoteric nature of such currencies, the increasing value and acceptance of cryptocurrencies coupled with fears over their volatile nature have led many countries to consider their own digital currencies. Here’s the thing, though: despite what we read about Bitcoin-or even Facebook’s cryptocurrency Diem (formerly known as Libra)-not a lot of people know how they work. The Games would have been the first real opportunity to see how the digital yuan will work for tourists and overseas visitors to China, but that opportunity is gone.On 18th August 2008, a new domain name was bought for the world’s first official but virtually unknown cryptocurrency: Cut to 2021, and the word Bitcoin is known by almost everyone-especially with the cryptocurrency’s skyrocketing highs and subsequent lows earlier this year.
"Though the Olympics were originally viewed by Chinese authorities as a chance to showcase the potential use of the currency in an international setting, it is likely that few non-Chinese citizens will use the digital RMB wallet at the Games," Triolo added. Meanwhile, China's so-called "zero Covid" approach has led to strict measures to try to stamp out the virus in China - that means very few foreign visitors will be attending the Winter Olympics in Beijing. "However, over time, there may be some niche areas where the digital RMB could see greater use, such as paying certain types of government related bills, or for things like transportation, particularly if the central bank offers incentives like red envelopes and other inducements." The Chinese currency is also referred to as the renminbi, or RMB. "For the foreseeable future, even if there is an uptick at the Winter Olympics, the transaction turnover rate of the central bank digital RMB is likely to be very tiny in comparison to popular payment platforms WeChat Pay and Alipay," Triolo said. But overall, transaction volume is unlikely to match that seen by Alipay and WeChat Pay, according to Paul Triolo, head of the geo-technology practice at risk consultancy Eurasia Group. The venues for the 2022 Games in Beijing will be able to use the e-CNY app there. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or LowerĬhina's central bank previously stated its intention to make the digital yuan available to visitors to the Beijing Winter Olympics. Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
0 kommentar(er)
