China has been capturing global headlines daily be it on the industrial front or because of developments in the field of technology. The Red Dragon has also shown its doubters that will adopt the latest forms of technologies and updates to assert its place as the number one growing economy on the planet.
The field of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology has also been assessed by China with the Xi Jinping led country making it a point to inform everyone that state-backed crypto was in the works. Although this was seen as a move to solidify Jinping’s own party agenda’s, it seems like the country is going ahead with these changes in full swing.
This week it was discovered that China was conducting large scale testing of digital wallets application within the country. Many state-run commercial banks were conducting these tests to see if they can finally launch their home-grown digital currency, the digital renminbi. Reports by local newspapers have also claimed that large banks such as Shenzen were running their own testing process to see if the wallets could transfer digital capital and settle payments.
If one looks at the itinerary put forth by the Central Bank of China earlier this year, it is pretty evident that the current developments were all running as per schedule. Just this week, the bank claimed that the state of China should actively promote the state-backed cryptocurrency as it would bring more security and prosperity to the nation.
It is not yet confirmed as to when China plans to launch its native cryptocurrency but analysts claim that a beta test may be possible in the first quarter of 2021. China’s vision with the digital currency has always been based on cutting the cost of circulating paper money as well as boosting the control exerted by policymakers on circulating capital. One of the target testing grounds for the digital currency would be future Winter Olympic stadiums, where a large number of microtransactions usually take place.
Apart from this, Chinese ride-hailing bigwig, Didi Chuxing has also entered into a strategic partnership with the People’s Bank of China to be a part of the digital asset revolution. Didi Chuxing will be part of the central bank’s Digital Currency Electronic Payment Service. The upcoming digital asset is slated to provide stiff competition to existing payment platforms such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, who are working on ramping up their own user base.