China's adoption rates of its digital yuan have soared since its introduction, but privacy concerns and a gloomy economic outlook may affect its hard-won gains.
Amid privacy concerns, there has been a strong adoption of China's digital yuan, with transactions using the virtual currency exceeding $14 billion since its introduction in 2020.
China is embracing the adoption of its digital yuan, as seen in the record-breaking number of citizens piloting the CBDC, leading the PBoC to expand the trial to four more commercial hubs.
China's CBDC adoption is moving ahead as planned, with several cities testing a new electronic payment method that lets users pay for their transport fares using digital yuan.
Lan Zhou noted that the CBDC had an impressive level of adoption across the test sites—citing that as of May, Chinese consumers had done a cumulative 264 million transactions amounting.
The country is now testing the digital yuan—e-CNY—for use in payments of tax, stamp duty, and social security premiums with Zhejiang, a province in Eastern China, pioneering the effort.
China’s central bank plans to expand the pilot to Xiamen, Fuzhou, Tianjin, and cities in Zhejiang province, which will be hosting the Asian Games in September.
An official from Nanjing city wants the law amended to clarify the digital yuan’s position in the payment system, including how banks should handle it.
The wallet is available for users in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Qingdao, Suzhou and six other cities, as well as those in Beijing for the Winter Olympics.
The Chinese central bank revealed the figures at a recent event, adding that there are now 10 million corporate accounts and dismissing privacy concerns.
The digital yuan pilot started in Shanghai with 270 McDonald's branches accepting central bank digital currency as payment, although reports indicated that companies including Visa and Nike are also being urged to accept the digital currency.
The latest "Chinese Bitcoin ban" consisted of a statement from the central bank, followed by supportive edicts from several other departments, plus financial and technology industry representatives.
