China, the world’s most populous country, has jumped leaps and bounds in comparison to a great number of other countries when it comes to the creation of a central bank digital currency. As each day passes, China’s digital yuan is seemingly getting closer to large-scale adoption, as big-name corporations like the e-commerce giant JD.com, Mastercard, Ant Group, and Tencent have been bolstering the venture.
China’s Digital Yuan Is Seemingly Near Completion, JD.com Employees Paid in e-CNY
China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) that’s being crafted by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has many names. Some are calling it the “e-CNY,” others call it the “digital yuan” or “digital renminbi,” and it’s also been called “Digital Currency Electronic Payment” (DCEP).
The country has been developing a CBDC for years now and in more recent times, the PBoC has unveiled the project via banks and businesses accepting it and giving away digital red envelopes.
At the end of March, it was announced that Chinese citizens could apply for a digital yuan wallet through six state-owned financial institutions. The PBoC is now working with the e-commerce firm JD.com and with the help of Alibaba, as some of JD.com’s staff have been getting their salary in the form of the digital yuan.
Reports note that JD.com employees who are participating in the trial started the program back in January. It’s not JD.com’s first test run with the CBDC either, as the company participated in airdrop promotions and Chinese citizens could use the digital currency to pay for items hosted on the online store.
Additionally, Alibaba Group has been involved as well prior to the employees getting paid with the CBDC, as the central bank has been working
