The Chinese government is now taking its test of the digital yuan one step further as 10 million users will be able to try out and use the currency after applying to join a whitelist in selected state banks.
This new test phase for the digital currency aims to identify potential problems in a broader testing environment as the country prepares its user base along with its Central Bank Digital Currency for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The extent of the test and how the digital yuan will be distributed remains to be clarified by proper authorities.
Testing phase enters a critical stage
China’s CBDC has been tested in several cities. But despite this, the acceptance level of citizens is still far from being ubiquitous.
That is probably the reason why the Asian country’s government has been ramping up the volume of users and the currency in its testing procedures. Officials from the country have been very vocal about their plans and desire to use the digital yuan in the Winter Olympics.
“We have the confidence to continue increasing the scope of the trials,” Fan Yifei, the deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, said.
Efforts for the digital yuan
The whitelist program is just the latest of the stages that the People’s Bank of China has executed in relation to the expected release of the country’s CBDC.
Last month, Beijing and Shanghai started handing out red envelopes of the currency to their citizens, with the handout expected to reach up to more than 500,000 envelopes.
However, despite these efforts, there are some reports suggesting that the tests failed to get all the attention the government wants, prompting it to look for new ways to promote the digital yuan better.
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