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South Korea’s Digital Won Project Sees First Trial Stage Completed

by Blockchain NewsJanuary 25, 2022

In a press release issued on Monday, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said that it has completed the first stage of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or Digital Won trials.

Many central banks worldwide are reconsidering the use of fiat currencies in their economies as the financial revolution is taking centre stage across the board. South Korea ranks as one of the most developed Asian economies exploring the launch of a CBDC, with the country setting up a panel to accelerate its CBDC pursuit as far back as June 2020.

As reported by the Yonhap News Agency, the first trial was launched back in August 2021 and completed in December, with the result revealing that the CBDC showed normal operations in a cloud-based environment.

While the milestone recorded in the just concluded first trial stage is significant to the development of the Digital Won, the apex bank said there are more functionalities to test out in the second stage.

“We will confirm the possibility of operating various functions, such as offline settlements, and the application of new technologies, such as one intended to strengthen privacy protection during the second phase of the test,” the BOK said in a press release.

The second phase of the trial is billed to commence right away and is expected to span until June 22 this year.

While no Asian central bank has officially launched a CBDC to date, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) can be credited for developing the world’s most sophisticated CBDC to date. The country’s e-CNY project has been in advanced testing for a very long time. The PBoC has notably developed a digital wallet for the new legal tender accessible on Chinese-focused Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store, respectively.

The timeline for the launch of the e-CNY is not yet known, but the CBDC is drafted to be used at this year’s Beijing Olympics games by foreign athletes.

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China’s e-CNY is Growing, despite Local Payment Options Lack behind

by Blockchain NewsJanuary 19, 2022

The Digital Yuan (e-CNY), China’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is growing at a fast pace as data released by Zou Lan, director of the PBoC financial markets department revealed the new legal tender has inked a total of 87.57 billion yuan ($13.68 billion) in transactions since public trials began, according to CNBC.

The performance figures released by the PBoC also showed that the total number of citizens that are now using the digital yuan has topped 261 million per a CNBC report. This user count is arguably favoured by the hosting of a newly released Digital Yuan wallet by the Chinese Central Bank on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store respectively.

While the transactions figures come off as impressive, it is by no means close to those of Alipay, one of the two dominant payment service providers operating in China. While the total transaction value of the e-CNY is pegged at 87.57 billion yuan, Alipay reported an average of 10 trillion yuan per month for the 2020 financial year.

Additionally, the monthly active users of Alipay pegged at 711 million people dwarfs the 261 million reported by the PBoC, and registered businesses on Alipay are over 80 million while businesses with a digital yuan wallet are just shy of 10 million.

While the fraction of the government’s new money made should be acknowledged, it is still a mile away from matching with local payment service providers. While competition from private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as well as stablecoins are already waded off when the country banned cryptocurrencies last year, the PBoC needs a more dogged strategy to onboard more users to use the e-CNY.

China has come a long way in perfecting the technical details surrounding its Digital Yuan currency, and with plans to permit foreign athletes to use the new money at the forthcoming Beijing Olympics, the PBoC wants to ensure all loose ends are tied with respect to its retail testing campaign.

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Tagged : CBDC / CBDC:Asia / Digital Yuan / E-CNY / PBoC

China’s e-CNY is Growing, is Miles Behind Local Payment Options

by Blockchain NewsJanuary 19, 2022

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Tagged : CBDC / CBDC:Asia / Digital Yuan / E-CNY / PBoC

WeChat Offers Digital Yuan Payments Ahead of Beijing Winter Games

by Blockchain NewsJanuary 7, 2022

WeChat has become compatible with payments using the digital yuan ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics, owner Tencent Holdings said.

The move by Tencent comes at a time when the Chinese government plans to test its digital yuan around Olympic venues next month when the Games begin.

From the perspective of Tencent, whose business strategy revolves around WeChat, the move is a strategy to prevent a loss of users from the app.

To use the payment feature on WeChat, a user must download the People’s Bank of China’s e-CNY app and create a digital yuan wallet with WeBank – the virtual bank backed by Tencent, followed by linking the WeBank wallet to the WeChat account to initiate payments.

Whether the central bank’s digital yuan will compete, or coexist, with other smartphone payment platforms is yet to be seen.

The world’s largest chat app has about 1.2 billion users, mainly in China. Currently, China’s digital yuan is limited to a few local cities, and only a handful of businesses accept the currency.

According to a January 5, 2021, report by Blockchain.News, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) extended its pilot tests for the digital yuan to launch a new mobile wallet. The new wallet is available to a select few as it is still in the development phase.

The report stated that the new mobile wallet is notably available on the Google Play Store and the Chinese-supported App Store for iOS users.

Along with WeChat, the government also plans to turn Macau into a testbed for the digital yuan as casino owners prepare to bid for new licenses in the city for the first time in two decades.

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Tagged : Blockchain / CBDC:Asia / China / DIGITALYUAN / ECNY / Wechat

China Launches Digital Yuan Pilot Wallet for Android and iOS Users

by Blockchain NewsJanuary 5, 2022

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has extended its pilot tests for the country’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or digital Yuan to launch a new mobile wallet.

As reported by Reuters Tuesday, the new wallet is available to a select few as it is still in the experimental or research and development phase.

The new mobile wallet is notably available on the Google Play Store and the Chinese-supported App Store for iOS users.

The People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) digital currency research institute developed the pilot mobile wallet and will be operable in the Shanghai region. The mobile test wallet is a step forward in China’s pursuit of a CBDC that will complement the Yuan fiat currency.

Previously, Chinese regulators reportedly will conduct a trial test of digital Yuan. Macau could be one of the options for testing digital Yuan, as the city enjoys the advantage of the casino industry, although the COVID-19 pandemic is still continuing to crush its sector.

The Governor of the People’s Bank of China, Yi Gang, revealed back in November that the apex bank will not slow down its pace of development for the Digital Yuan project. He noted that the focus of the CBDC is to improve the design and usage of the new form of money while also bolstering its operational integration with existing payment systems.

China’s efforts with respect to developing a CBDC have been well commended in the past years. The PBoC launched trials for the Digital Yuan back in 2020 and has conducted a number of transactions to showcase the efficacy of the CBDC in retail transactions. As of November 2020, Governor Yi confirmed that the PBoC had recorded more than $300 million in Digital Yuan transactions.

At present, the Chinese government has succeeded in taming all forms of competition that may arise from privately issued digital currencies as it successfully banned crypto last year. The only competitors that are visible for the PBoC to compete with are the established payment service providers, including WeChat and Alipay, both of which currently dominate the digital payments ecosystem in the country.

China appears not to be in so much hurry concerning the Digital Yuan pursuit and has not mentioned a date when the new form of money will be rolled out.

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Tagged : CBDC / CBDC:Asia / China / Digital Yuan / PBoC

Macau Likely to be Test Bed for China’s Digital Yuan: Reuters

by Blockchain NewsJanuary 3, 2022

Macau is expected to be a testbed for China’s digital yuan, also known as the e-CNY, as casino owners prepare to bid for new licenses in the city for the first time in two decades.

Chinese regulators will be looking forward to using the casino licensing opportunity to test the digital yuan in 2022, Reuters reported.

Among many other casino companies in Macau, Sands China and Wynn Macau have shown eagerness to participate in the government’s plan.

The government authorities have also pitched ideas like appointing agents to supervise daily casino operations, according to Reuters.

Last November, when central bank governor Yi Gang suggested China’s newly developed cryptocurrency could be useful for fighting crime such as money-laundering and resolving complex cross-border payments problems, Macau might be one of the options in his pocket list.

In addition, in December, junket operator Suncity’s boss Alvin Chan was implicated in a probe into illegal gaming. Suncity facilitated bets for wealthy VIPs, a market segment worth around $8 billion in gaming revenue the year before COVID-19 struck, Reuters reported.

Using Macau as a testbed for digital payments would benefit Beijing’s desire for greater oversight of cash flows and customers and since the casino hub is situated outside Chinese capital controls, the city is considered an ideal place to test the technology before rolling it out more widely in the mainland.

According to Bernstein analysts estimate, the average high roller lost over $27,000 on each visit to the tables in Macau.

A senior Chinese central bank official said that some 140 million people had registered “wallets” for the new digital yuan as of October and used it for transactions totalling around $9.7 billion, according to a Reuters report from November 2021.

Although 2022 is likely to be the year for e-CNY, no official launch date for the digital currency has been announced yet.

Since China’s ban of decentralised cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, the digital yuan is predicted to substitute them.

According to a Blockchain.News report, China implemented its zero-tolerance policy for Bitcoin mining in May 2021, with a series of crackdowns on miners that finally led to the exodus of mining firms from the Asian nation. Beijing’s negative stance about crypto miners is fueled by the supposed environmental impact as the majority of the nation’s power source comes from coal.

Eventually, Chinese miners have found the right footing by relocating to other areas like the United States.

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Tagged : Bitcoin / Blockchain / Casino / CBDC:Asia / China / Digital Yuan / ECNY / MACAU

Japan’s Major Banks Join Consortium of Private Firms to Launch Yen-Based Digital Currency

by Blockchain NewsNovember 25, 2021

A consortium of 79 Japanese firms, including the country’s largest banks, have joined forces to participate in the trial and a potential launch of a new digital version of the Japanese Yen in fiscal 2022.

Led by a startup, DeCurret cryptocurrency exchange, these private firms are developing a platform known as Digital Currency JPY (DCJPY) to ensure that bank deposits will back the digital currency; Hence the DCJPY will be a liability of each of the banks.

The initiative seeks to launch a yen-based digital currency in fiscal 2022 after testing trials in the coming months.

Kazuhiro Tokita, chief executive of crypto exchange DeCurret, leading the consortium, talked about the development at a news conference on Wednesday, November 24. Tokita said that “the new digital currency, known as “DCJPY” will be backed by bank deposits and rely on a common platform to expedite large funds transfer and settlements among the participating firms.”

DeCurrent is leading the consortium, which includes a wide variety of firms, including major Japanese banks such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, among many other financial services firms. Also, big industrial companies such as motor vehicles, electricity, telecoms companies such as (Mitsubishi Motors Corporation), Japan Post Bank Co Ltd., Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp, East Japan Railway Co and Kansai Electric Power Co Inc). Other firms are expected to participate in the experiments to examine the use of digital currency in industries ranging from retail to energy.

Since last year, the consortium has been meeting regularly to discuss ways of creating a new settlement platform for digital payments.

Toshihide Endo, a former head of Japan’s Financial Services Agency who is currently a special advisor to DeCurret, also talked at the conference and said: “A digital currency system built on a bank deposit-backed common platform will fit the CBDC that could be planned and implemented” in Japan.

The initiative by the consortium is part of the private sector to support the Bank of Japan’s ongoing experiment on official national CBDC. Government officials, including policymakers, have stated that they would work closely with the private sector if the BOJ were to issue a CBDC.

Digital Yen with Simple Design

The latest development by the consortium sends a signal that the private sector is embracing the use of blockchain-based payment systems.

In the few previous months, as reported by Blockchain.News, a senior central bank official, working for the Bank of Japan (BOJ), stated that any digital currency that the central bank plans to issue should have a simple design that private firms can use to develop financial and payments services for customers.

BOJ executive director Shinichi Uchida said in October that if the central bank were to decide on issuing the national digital currency, then such a CBDC needs to co-exist with private-sector payment services.

Uchida further stated that the government is collaborative enough. Therefore private firms are allowed to develop services that allow customers to use both CBDC and private payment means with a single wallet.

The BOJ recently set up a regular panel to exchange views with the private sector as part of efforts to ensure that any digital currency it issues does not stifle private innovation.

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Tagged : Banking / CBDC / CBDC:Asia / Japan / PRIVATE FIRMS / Yen

India Reportedly Postpones to Test Digital Rubee in Q1 in 2023, Amid Banning Private Cryptos

by Blockchain NewsNovember 25, 2021

The Indian government has postponed the trial date of testing digital Rubee until Q1 of 2023, the digital form of central bank digital currency (CBDC), local media outlets reported.

The administration is reportedly about to introduce a bill to ban “private cryptocurrency” at the upcoming Winter Conference of Parliament. According to a published report from the Lok Sabha, the Indian Parliament will vote on the “Encryption and Supervision of the Official Digital Currency Act 2021” designated by the country’s central bank to promote the creation of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

India has once announced that it is ready to begin testing its electronic rupee towards the end of 2021. However, local media reported that the administration could not do the soft launch in December, pushing the test timeline over a year later, according to online media Coingeek.

Recently, India has been planning to ban all private cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum from promoting the development of underlying blockchain technology.

The announcement stated:

“The Bill also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India. However, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses.”

The details of the bill do not announce yet. According to Aditya Singh, the co-founder of the Indian YouTube channel Crypto India with more than 200,000 fans, the law is likely to be an initial ban proposed by the IMC committee led by Subhash Chandra Garg’s revised version of the draft.

Mikkel Morch, Executive Director & Risk Management at crypto/digital assets hedge fund ARK36, commented that:

“At the moment, the extent of the ban under the proposed legislation doesn’t seem to be clear. While the bill’s summary states its intention is to prohibit all non-government cryptocurrencies, it also talks about allowing for “certain exceptions “.

Morch added that “Judging from Prime Minister Modi’s tweet from a few days ago, the potential use of cryptocurrencies for illicit activities or manipulative investment schemes may be some of the main concerns here. “

Based on the data from the World Bank, the world’s fifth-largest economy continues to be cautious by handling the launch of CBDC to avoid any catastrophic moves to its economy.

In March 2020, the Supreme Court of India overturned the comprehensive ban on cryptocurrencies imposed by the central bank two years ago. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) clarified its position concerning the previous ban on cryptocurrency-related activities in the country and financial institutions’ adherence to the rule.

As reported by Blockchain.News on November 17, India is planning to bar the use of cryptocurrencies for payments or transactions but allow them to be held as assets such as gold, shares, and bonds.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged cooperation between the world’s democracies to ensure that crypto coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum do not end up in the wrong hands while pointing out issues concerning cryptocurrencies.

Reportedly, that there are approximately 1.5 -20 million cryptocurrency investors in India, which have exceeded their holdings of approximately 4000 billion rupees, worth approximately US$5,366,342,315.81.

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Tagged : Bitcoin / Blockchain / CBDC / CBDC:Asia / India / Regulation

MAS Sees Potential in Retail-CBDC for the City-State

by Blockchain NewsNovember 10, 2021

Despite its plans to float Project Orchid, the technology infrastructure, and the technical competencies necessary to issue a digital Singapore dollar, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is not in a hurry to follow the bandwagon.

According to Ravi Menon, the Managing Director of the MAS, the country has not found a compelling use case for issuing a CBDC, even though it sees massive potential in retail CBDCs to help eliminate key risks to the financial ecosystem. The banking veteran highlighted the need to trail the growing financial innovation through digital currencies that can remove the inefficiencies in fiat notes.

The potential to drive financial inclusion is also a massive potential that Ravi highlighted as he noted it will be easier for startups to gain a good share of the market with the opportunities the new payment model will drive.

“A digital Singapore dollar could possibly foster an efficient and inclusive payment ecosystem. It could make it easier for smaller firms to build new payments and related digital services,” he said, adding that “Start-ups, for instance, can integrate with the retail CBDC and not need to build their own e-money and user base.”

Ultimately, Ravi affirmed that the emergence of a CBDC can help wade off the competition from privately issued digital currencies as well as the threats of other nations’ CBDCs being used on a large scale on Singapore shores.

“As these global digital currencies enter our market and become widely accessible in the future, they could potentially displace the use of the Singapore dollar in domestic retail transactions. A digital Singapore dollar issued by MAS that is congruent with the needs of a digitalised economy could go some way to mitigate this risk,” he said.

The MAS Executive highlighted that the advancement in the development of the Digital Singapore Dollar would proceed; should the country find the need to float the new form of money at a later date, it can easily do so. However, the financial landscape of Singapore is so advanced that the CBDC may not be needed for quite a long time, according to the banking veteran.

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Tagged : CBDC / CBDC:Asia / Mas / RAVI MENON / Singapore / Stablecoins

Chinese Authorities Wants McDonald’s to Expand its Digital Yuan Acceptance

by Blockchain NewsOctober 21, 2021

In a bid to advance the national integration of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) dubbed the Digital Renminbi (e-CNY), Chinese authorities are reportedly mounting pressure on McDonald’s as well as other American firms to expand their acceptance of the e-CNY.

Before this time, McDonald’s has been receiving payments through the digital Renminbi in about 270 of its locations in mainland China. Still, the recent reports indicate that Chinese authorities want the firm to expand to more outlets in the nation.

While McDonald’s said that there is no pressure on it as claimed, sources who spoke to the Financial Times said payment firm Visa Inc and apparel brand Nike is also being demanded to expand their digital renminbi acceptance.

“I always assumed large US firms would be put under pressure to provide weight to the digital renminbi because most large retailers will be put under pressure and American firms won’t be exempted,” Darrell Duffie, a co-head of an e-renminbi project run by Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, told the FT.

China’s pursuit of a sovereign digital currency is miles ahead of other major economies developing their own CBDCs. The Asian giant has been conducting a series of digital renminbi trials involving small-scale retail transactions, and the majority of the tests feature companies with a large customer base.

With the 2022 Beijing Olympics ahead, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is doing its best to ensure an optimal distribution of the digital Renminbi, which it hopes will be used by guest athletes for transactions. While China is notably working to turn its economy into a cashless one by 2022, the apex bank has not given any official details as to the timeline the digital Renminbi will be officially launched.

DespiChina’sa’s efforts, the Bahamas now ranks as the first nation to launch a fully functional CBDC, a feat it recorded last October.

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Tagged : CBDC / CBDC:Asia / China / Digital Renminbi / ECNY / Mcdonalds