Expanded use of China's Digital Currency trials in 11 additional urban areas
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has announced an expansion of trials for the digital yuan, China's central bank digital currency, to 11 additional cities. This move comes as the response towards the adoption of the digital yuan in pilot cities and Winter Olympic venues has been positive.
Beijing and Zhangjiakou, the co-host cities of the Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympic Games, will become e-CNY's pilot cities. The trials for the digital yuan will also be conducted in these cities, as well as in the Winter Olympic venues.
The new 11 cities added to the list include Shaoxing, Fuzhou, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Huzhou, and Jinhua. The trials for the digital yuan in these cities are scheduled to run from September 2025 through March 2026.
The central bank will conduct "deep research" on the impact of the digital currency on the country's financial system. The trials for the digital yuan have been taking place in 11 current cities and regions, including Shanghai, Suzhou, Xiong'an, Dalian, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hainan, Changsha, Xi'an, Qingdao, and the closed loop of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
The use of digital yuan in Beijing and Zhangjiakou will continue after the trials inside the venues of the Winter Olympic Games end. The central bank plans to promote the use of the digital yuan by striving for privacy protection and crime prevention.
The trials for the digital yuan are being chaired by Governor Yi Gang. The user and transaction scales for the digital yuan have been growing steadily. The PBOC has also announced support for the Asian Games host to carry out the next round of digital yuan pilots.
The central bank's meetings regarding the digital yuan are held to discuss its progress and future steps. The response towards the adoption of digital yuan in pilot cities and Winter Olympic venues has been positive, indicating a promising future for China's digital currency.
