By
Tolu Ajiboye
May 6th, 2024
Although the digital yuan has met with stiff opposition from countries like the United States, China has continued to push forward with its e-CNY plan.
China has finally launched its mobile wallet for digital yuan called e-CNY, and the new app will be available for download on all iOS and Android app stores in the country.
China Launches e-CNY
In celebration of the new year, China has launched a mobile wallet for digital yuan, which is available to all Android and iOS users. BlockBeats, a local news platform, was the first to carry the news via their Twitter handle, with users urged to test-run the app “personal wallet opening and management” and “e-CNY exchange and circulation services.”
As an offshoot of the Chinese government initiative and development of the People’s Bank of China’s Digital Currency Research Institute, downloading the e-CNY app requires several stringent rules and regulations that must be followed.
For instance, a user will have to be physically present in one of the 11 listed locations, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong’an, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hainan, Changsha, Xi’an, Qingdao, Dalian, and the Winter Olympics area. That’s the only way the download can be possible and the trial wallet be activated.
Having a national digital currency has been debated in many countries, including China. Today, the Chinese digital yuan, is a reality and will be publicized after this trial phase is completed.
Although the digital yuan has met with stiff opposition from countries like the United States, China has continued to push forward with its e-CNY plan. In 2020, China’s Central Bank proposed using the CBDCs in this year’s Beijing Winter Olympics.
China’s Apex Bank Determined to Develop e-CNY
Two months ago, the People’s Bank of China’s Governor Yi Gang assured that the country is poised to develop a national digital currency. He also made notes of reference to e-CNY design, general usage, and increasing its interoperability with other payment gateways.
Governor Yi concluded that the Central Bank will improve the privacy protection and the anti-counterfeiting feature. The Governor said that personal information protection is a sensitive issue for the Central Bank and the Chinese Government; thus, a perfect balance needs to be struck between safeguarding privacy and preventing crimes. However, the trial phase of the launch should introduce users to e-CNY and take any meaningful suggestions or upgrade advice into consideration.
China has already begun to create a conducive environment for its e-CNY to thrive. In September 2021, China issued a ban on crypto-related activities. Experts believe that the move is geared towards pulling down competition against its national digital currency. Governor Yi finally assured that the People’s Bank of China is ready to extend friendly cooperation with the rest of the world towards improving their CBDC projects.