The Beijing local financial authorities, in cooperation with the Tongzhou local government, held a conference that announced plans to create a digital currency zone project and establish a digital financial system in the Chinese capital.
According to a report by the Sina news agency, the conference also discussed the introduction of the country’s so-called “two districts” policy. The aforementioned policy includes increased leniency in providing market access to foreign financial entities, the stimulation of green finance and international wealth management, and more importantly – the launch of digital currency tests.
The Chinese authorities have planned its pilot for the digital yuan experiments in Beijing to follow a similar pattern as its program in the city of Shenzhen, where they distributed $1.5 million worth of the digital currency to random citizens.
Meanwhile, some reports and posts on Chinese social media site users who have not been especially satisfied with the digital yuan. Over two million people have applied for a share, that was fixed at 200 digital yuan (almost $30). However, one of the applicants explained that the option was less convenient than cash and he would not use the digital currency again unless there is another giveaway. Another tester noted that the means of use and the infrastructure of the digital yuan are very similar to the digital currencies of Alipay and WeChat. This indicates the digital money is not a novice since alternatives have been “out for a long time”.
Governor Yi Gang from the PBC recently announced that during the virtual yuan trials were successfully conducted over four million transactions, that were worth almost $300 million in total.
