China to debut sovereign digital currency by 2022 Winter Olympics – PBOC

• China’s central bank, PBOC is targeting the 2022 Winter Olympics to mass test the digital yuan.
• The digital currency is currently undergoing limited trials in four cities including Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu, and the Xiongan.
• Consumers around the world are wary of transmissions of COVID-19 due to the use of physical cash.

The Governor of the People’s Bank of China, Yi Gang, earlier this week released a statement in regard to its national digital. However, the governor refrained from giving exact dates and timelines for the launch of the digital currency that has been in research and development for more than five years.

The Asian economic giant is, however, targeting the 2022 Olympics for piloting the digital yuan. At the moment, there are limited trials that are underway in four cities including Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu, and the Xiongan New Area.

According to a member of the State Council, if the government and the central bank are okay with the ongoing trials, the digital currency could be “issued next year.” Consequently, if the results are not satisfying, “more tests will be conducted next year.”

Amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, consumers have been alarmed by the level of virus transmission when using paper money. Digital platforms stand to benefit a lot due to the situation at hand according to Eddi Yur, the CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

The digital yuan will be linked to a person’s phone number and transactions will be conducted via a smartphone application. Consumers will also have access to features such as bar codes and QR codes for ease of payments.

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