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China to Expand Digital Yuan Testing Program

China to Expand Digital Yuan Testing Program

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will expand the digital yuan (e-CNY) pilot test to even more cities. The regulator has noted the growth in the number of transactions with CBDC and the success of the experiment as part of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

China has been testing the digital yuan since the end of 2019. At the end of 2021, the volume of transactions with e-CNY reached 87.57 billion yuan and 261 million unique digital wallets were registered.

The tests were held in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong’an, Chengdu, Shanghai , Hainan, Changsha, Xi’an, Qingdao, Dalian and the Winter Olympic Games area. These cities will continue to use the tool.  Now the program will include Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen and six cities in Zhejiang province that host the Asian Games.

The regulator has said that in the next phase of development, e-CNY will work on protecting sensitive data when using the tool, as well as preventing its use for criminal purposes. In addition, the PBOC will conduct an “in-depth study” of the impact of CBDC on the financial system of China.