Beijing will not seek full control over personal data through its public digital currency

• China’s digital coin will retain a balance between anonymity and risk control.
• The road map of the project is still unknown.

China’s public digital currency development is closely watched by investors and financial authorities all over the world. While the details are sacred, some experts are concerned that the state may use the coin to obtain full control over money flows and the economy as a whole.

However, the Chinese digital currency will not allow the government to gain full control over personal information. According to a senior central bank official, the state-issued digital coin will balance the privacy issues and the information needs of the government.  

“We know the demand from the general public is to keep anonymity by using paper money and coins … we will give those people who demand it anonymity in their transactions,” Mu Changchun, head of the People’s Bank of China’s digital currency research institute, explained a conference in Singapore as cited by Reuters.

The authorities want to keep the balance between the anonymity and risks of money laundering, tase evasion, gambling and other illegal activities.

“That is a balance we have to keep, and that is our goal. We are not seeking full control of the information of the general public,” the official added.

The release date of the new digital currency is still unknown.  There was no timetable for the roll-out, the Chinese central bank chief Yi Gang said in September.