Chinese authorities are reportedly giving 15 million yuan ($2.3 million) in e-CNY to residents of Shenzhen’s Futian district. The move is intended to boost adoption of the Chinese CBDC and promote the financial product within society at large.
CBDC’s Latest Efforts in China
Contrary to its hostile view on digital assets, the government of the world’s most populous country has an entirely different stance on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Over the past year, the authorities have launched several initiatives to popularize the digital representation of its national currency.
According to Global Times coverage, the latest such initiative includes the distribution of more than $2 million worth of digital yuan to residents of Futian (the central business district of China’s third largest city – Shenzhen).
The e-CNY will be separated into 130,000 red packets and distributed in a lottery method using WeChat payment. Residents can participate in the raffle by registering in the raffle app. Later, they will be able to spend the financial product in nearly 5,000 stores in the neighborhood without the obligation to make a minimum purchase.
This is not the first time that Shenzhen authorities have distributed digital yuan to the city’s population. In 2020, they distributed 10 million yuan (about $1.5 million) worth of e-CNY.
Soon after, the initiative spread to the cities of Chengdu and the capital, Beijing. Residents of the former received $4.6 million in the form of China’s CBDC, while the latter received $6.2 million.
Gradual expansion of Digital Yuan
By the end of 2021, the number of Chinese people who opened digital wallets in yuan exceeded 140 million, or about 10% of the total population. Interest in the product has continued to grow, and that number has soared to over 260 million by early 2022.
Some well-known local businesses have even accepted CBDC as a form of payment. On the one hand, JD.com allowed customers to use it for settlements during the shopping festival – Singles Day (November 11).
Chinese messaging app giant – WeChat – has also enabled its customers to facilitate e-CNY transactions. The service has become available in all regions where the product is tested, including Beijing and Shanghai.
Additionally, Chinese authorities allowed foreign visitors and athletes to use the CBDC during the Beijing Olympics in February. Like CryptoPotato reported, more than $315,000 worth of digital yuan was traded daily during the sporting event.
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