Chinese Cities Introduce Digital Yuan Payments During the Spring Festival (Report)

Major Chinese cities, including Shenzhen, Jinan, and Lianyungang, have reportedly launched approximately 200 activities involving the digital yuan during the Spring Festival. 

The authorities aim to boost the asset’s adoption during one of the largest holidays in the country.

China Continues With its CBDC Efforts

According to recent coverage, the local government started digital yuan activities worth more than 180 million yuan ($26.5 million) in several cities to encourage usage during the Spring Festival (a seven-day long holiday that marks the start of “the Year of the Rabbit”).

The authorities of Shenzhen (a city in South China with a population of nearly 13 million) distributed 100 million worth of digital yuan ($14.7 million) to support the domestic catering sector. 

Jinan, Lianyungang, and Hangzhou in the east introduced digital yuan coupons, which residents can use to purchase goods during the holiday period. Hangzhou’s citizens seemed most interested, taking all the provided funds in less than ten seconds.

Commercial institutions took part in the promotions, too, by allowing consumers to pay bills in supermarkets, transportation, and tourism in e-CNY. 

China’s efforts to boost the adoption of its CBDC have previously reached Chengdu and the capital Beijing. The former’s residents received $4.6 million worth of it at the beginning of 2021, while the latter got $6.2 million several months later.

Digital Yuan Payments During Singles Day

One of the largest Chinese e-commerce platforms – JD.com – allowed clients to settle bills in e-CNY during Singles Day’s shopping festival in November 2021. More than 100,000 people took advantage of the offering.

Singles Day is an unofficial Chinese holiday that honors those not in a romantic relationship. It has turned into the busiest shopping day in the nation.

The Expansion of the CBDC

While dealing with cryptocurrencies in China is forbidden, interest in the domestic CBDC has been rising. As CryptoPotato reported, the number of digital yuan wallets in the most populous country reached 140 million at the end of 2021, 10 million of which were corporate accounts. e-CNY transactions hit almost $10 billion.

At the beginning of 2022, there were 261 million individual digital yuan wallets, while transactions surged to $13.8 billion. 

The government of China allowed the usage of the product during the 2022 Winter Olympic Games held in Beijing. Sources informed that athletes and visitors employed over $300,000 worth of e-CNY every day during the tournament.

The initiative previously triggered tension between the two economic superpowers – China and the USA. Senators Marsha Blackburn, Roger Wicker, and Cynthia Lummis urged the US Olympic Committee to prohibit the usage of the e-yuan over spying concerns.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry requested that Americans “abide by the spirit” of the games and don’t involve with monetary products they are not aware of.