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How China’s digital currency is leading the race to displace bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies

  • As governments grow increasingly wary of cryptocurrencies, centralised digital currencies are seen as a way to streamline key activities and preserve public trust
  • China’s success with its digital yuan is pushing the rest of the world to create their own digital currencies, putting cryptocurrencies under pressure

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A banner promoting China’s digital yuan trial is displayed at the Suzhou North High Speed Train Station on December 21, 2020. Photo: Orange Wang
Ever since 2014, the Chinese government has led the global race to form a central bank digital currency (CBDC) with the creation of the digital yuan. Central banks across the world soon began to play catch-up and develop their own projects behind this digital technology.

Seven years later, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) estimates that 86 per cent of central banks around the world are researching digital currencies. About 60 per cent of them are developing their own digital currency, and 14 per cent have already begun deploying pilot projects.

The most advanced projects have been in the retail sector, especially in developing countries, as financial inclusion programmes are created to bring more people into the banking system. According to the PwC CBDC Index Report, the Bahamas and Cambodia have the most advanced projects for retailing central bank digital currencies and are ready to launch their digital currencies for mass retail adoption.
CBDCs are centralised digital currencies backed by securities such as cash, gold or oil and regulated by national central banks. The aim is to provide safe “digital banknotes” for retail, corporate and daily use such as for payment of utility bills or purchasing products, peer-to-peer payments to others, interbank transactions and international financial settlement for wholesale clients.

According to the BIS, CBDCs are seen as a way for central banks to streamline key economic, financial and regulatory activities while safeguarding the public’s trust in money, maintaining stability and ensuring a resilient and safe payment system.

It will enable institutions to monitor bank wallets and transactions in real time, set currency thresholds and reduce the required balance in the account and create instant reporting on commercial banks.

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