The latest Chinese digital yuan trial will target 500,000 people, up from 50,000 in the first test last October. Plus, six new regions have been confirmed as Shanghai, Hainan, Changsha, Xi’an, Qingdao, and Dalian. But according to Li Bin, director of the People’s Bank of China’s Macro-Prudential Management Bureau, there is still no official launch timetable.
Most of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilots involved giveaways of a small amount of currency. When the pilot program was first announced, it was restricted to five regions, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiongan New Area, Chengdu, and the Winter Olympics locations (Beijing), so that’s now expanded to eleven.
“The digital renminbi pilot test adheres to the principles of stability, safety, and control, and focuses on small transactions from invited whitelisted users,” said Li Bin. “At present, the number of participants, the number of transactions, and the amount of net exchange are still relatively small. During the pilot process, all parties have a relatively high interest in digital renminbi, and users in the pilot areas are relatively motivated.”
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