Amidst the COVID-19 adverse effect across China and the world at large, there seem no setbacks in the development of China’s digital yuan.
As per the report shared by a Global Times on Tuesday, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is way closer to issuing digital yuan. The report was cited with the “industry insiders”, adding to that the central bank is also drafting relevant laws to roll out its national digital currency.
The news comes in a wake of China’s anti-crypto, elaborating three types of scams happening across crypto exchanges. In addition to this, the bank had also noted the crowning cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is not a safe haven and it is too volatile.
On the other side, the recent report also noted that the country’s leading payment platform, Alipay’s patent shows several functions required to circulate, issue or proceed payment for digital currency. The industry insider told the Global Times as follows;
“Judging from the patents, the first step of technological development has been basically completed,”
However, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) early this year acknowledged that the top leave design of the sovereign digital currency has been completed. However, he quietly noted that the currency is progressing smoothly.
With the coronavirus epidemic continued, people rarely care about fiat or paper money that may likely act as a reason for more COVID-19 cases. That being said, Bitcoin and other digital currencies have been considered as a feasible solution. On the same stance, Industry Insider suggested that the country should move forward of launching this digital currency in ongoing COVID-19 crises which have also affected the financial system.
Nonetheless, Cao Yan, managing director of Digital Renaissance Foundation, stated that;
“If there is a chance China is considering lowering its interest rate into negative territory as a final option and directing such policy to commercial loans and lending, a circulated digital currency rather than M0 will be able to achieve that,”