China's central bank is ramping up its effort to develop its own digital currency through launching the pilot edition of the digital yuan wallet app for smartphones.
To encourage more people to adopt digital usage, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) released the e-CNY (Pilot version) app for select locations on Tuesday, Jan. 4.
Ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics, can people use this app for transactions?
Chinese Central Bank Launches E-CNY
Coin Telegraph reported that the PBoC digital currency research institute recently released a pilot version of the digital yuan app. At the moment, it is now available for download on both Apple and Android app stores in China.
According to the report, Chinese-based local news outlet BlockBeats tweeted that the users in the country could now access the application on its early version. Moreover, the experiment would let users open and use their digital wallets to handle digital yuan transactions and other currencies.
In relation to this, Reuters wrote in its report that E-CNY is undergoing some developments for a reason. To add, only some users would utilize it via authorized E-CNY providers.
Last year, Yi Gang, the governor of PBoC announced that China would be creating a CBDC (central bank digital currency). The institution mentioned that it would also improve the usage and design of its contemporary payment methods.
During the year-end meeting, PBoC said that it would seek ways to push the creation of the digital yuan in the country.
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Digital Yuan For Beijing Winter Olympics
CNBC stated in its Jan. 4 report that China is encouraging more users to adopt the usage of digital currency. With that, it is expected that e-CNY will be usable for the select areas that will cover the Beijing Winter Olympics.
This was indicated in the app's notice where the PBoC will introduce the digital yuan to the major sports event to the individuals.
The launch of the e-CNY app prompts tight competition with two other companies. Tencent's WeChat and Alipay of the Ant Group remain the two digital currency apps that continue to dominate the market.
In June 2021, Tech Times reported that China was hinting at favoring selective cryptos in the country following its television talk about Uniswap $UNI. At that time, the show indicated that the country was gradually leaning on the possibilities of introducing cryptocurrencies to the people.
In another source report, PBoC said that it recognized Bitcoin as a crypto asset and an investment alternative. To support this statement, a representative from the organization stated that they have a "change of heart" regarding their crypto ideals.
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Written by Joseph Henry
