Speaking at a recent lecture in Singapore, the Chinese central bank's governor, Yi Gang, announced that the transactions using the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC), or the digital yuan, reached nearly $250B as of the end of June. The figure was only at the level of $13B in August last year. Yi also said the digital yuan in circulation hit $2.3B in June. - The bank governor added that the number of transactions through the digital yuan, also known as e-CNY, reached 950 million, while the citizens have opened 120 million wallets so far.
- Still, the digital yuan in circulation represents only 0.16% of China's total cash in circulation.
- China is currently piloting e-CNY, launched in 2019, in 26 cities and 17 provinces.
- The digital currency has been used mainly for domestic retail payments in the country.
- The country has offered many use cases for e-CNY, including payments for public transport, salaries to public sector employees, medical expenses, groceries, gas, and water.
CBDCs are issued and controlled by a country's government or central bank and backed by the local currency. - The Chinese Communist Party, the ruling political party of the country, pushes for CBDC adoption mainly because it is subject to the direct control of the state.
- Cryptocurrencies, any kind of crypto transactions, and all crypto mining activities have been forbidden in China since 2021.
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