Editor's Note: This article comes fromInterchain Pulse (ID: HiveEcon), Author: Yuan Shang, reproduced by Odaily with authorization.
Editor's Note: This article comes from
Interchain Pulse (ID: HiveEcon)
, Author: Yuan Shang, reproduced by Odaily with authorization.
On May 26, during the two sessions, Yi Gang, Governor of the People's Bank of China, once again disclosed the progress of the legal digital currency DC/EP in an interview with the media. Yi Gang said: "First conduct internal closed pilot tests in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong'an, Chengdu and future Winter Olympics scenes to test theoretical reliability, system stability, functional availability, process convenience, scene applicability and risks. Controllability."
This may mean that at least until the 2022 Winter Olympics, it will not be rolled out on a large scale. However, regions that have long been eager to try are striving for the second batch of pilot projects.
secondary title
Time Judgment of Legal Digital Currency
Last year, it was reported that the central bank's legal digital currency was piloted in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiongan, and Chengdu. According to Interchain Pulse, preparations for the pilot program have been launched one after another. During the epidemic, many experts and scholars believed that the launch of the central bank's digital currency should be accelerated.
In February of this year, Li Lihui, head of the blockchain working group of China Internet Finance Association and former Bank of China President, said that under the current situation of epidemic prevention and control, it should be possible to speed up the issuance of digital currency.
Yang Dong, director of the Financial Technology and Blockchain Research Center of the Future Rule of Law Research Institute of Renmin University of China, also said that overall, due to the impact of the epidemic, the launch of digital currencies may be further accelerated. "This is mainly because the frequency of direct contact between people has been greatly reduced by the epidemic virus, and cash has been 'repelled' as a medium of exchange, thus further reducing the use of "paper money" that needs to be paid in person."
Subsequently, the news of the central bank’s digital currency pilots in Suzhou and Chengdu came out one after another, and the inter-chain pulse also exclusively disclosed the detailed information of the Xiongan pilot. (For details, see Mutual Chain Exclusive | Central Bank Digital Currency Xiongan Pilot Invitation List Released Starbucks and other 19 companies are listed).
On the other side, Libra has also launched the 2.0 version of the white paper, and Europe and Japan have also accelerated the research and development of digital currencies. The market expects that with the increase of competitors, the digital currency of the People's Bank of China will expand its coverage and accelerate its launch after the pilot program.
However, in April this year, some media disclosed that the Winter Olympics is also one of the pilot scenarios, which was not done in the past. Central Bank Governor Yi Gang’s statement during the two sessions verified that the Winter Olympics scene is also the first batch of pilot scenes.
That could mean that work on the first trials will have to wait until at least after the Winter Olympics. That is, after February 20, 2022. This is lower than the market's expectations for expanding the pilot this year.
The Suzhou landing scene is the transportation subsidy for the staff of enterprises and institutions, Shenzhen is paying taxes and fees for the internal employees of the bank, Xiong’an focuses on the liquidation field, and the Chengdu internal test application scenario merchants will focus on online and offline integrated consumption.
But there is one more function of the digital currency that needs to be tested - cash payments for foreign tourists entering the country. After entering the country, foreign tourists can exchange foreign currency into RMB at the exchange point. Tourists do not need to provide ID cards, open bank cards, or download Chinese payment tools. This process is different from WeChat Pay or Alipay.
The central bank's digital currency is divided into four types of accounts. The most basic type of account does not need to provide so much information to meet the cash needs of foreign tourists for temporary entry. The relatively closed and controllable scene of the Winter Olympics is a perfect pilot opportunity. The digital currency wallet can also be temporarily downloaded, or integrated in the SIM card of the telecom operator.
If the pilot of digital currency in the Winter Olympics is successful, then the response capacity for further expansion of the pilot will be more sufficient.
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Digital currency pilot scramble
Although the second batch of central bank digital currency pilots may not take until next year, more regions are already making relevant preparations.
For example, during the two sessions, Cui Yu, a representative of the National People's Congress and chairman of City Bank Clearing Services Co., Ltd., said that he will actively strive for the first trial of digital currency in the Yangtze River Delta region. Cui Yu said that the Yangtze River Delta region is one of the most developed regions in the country, with relatively high quality in all aspects, strong ability to accept and prevent risks, and it is easy to get results by trying first.
