Asian Games host gets central bank support for digital yuan pilots

The People’s Bank of China and four state departments confirmed their support for bidding regions in the southeastern province Zhejiang to carry out the next batch of digital yuan pilots.

Fast facts

• The support was revealed in a financial policy document that outlined the province’s financial development plans over the next five years.

• Zhejiang’s capital city and host of the upcoming 2022 Asian Games, Hangzhou, is a frontrunner to pilot the digital yuan, with a local company recently revealing it has signed deals with major Chinese banks to incorporate digital yuan payments. 

• The digital yuan, or e-CNY, is China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), which topped US$11.24 billion in historical transactions last year.
• Chinese media said the next batch of digital yuan pilot projects is “coming soon,” while five provinces and two municipalities other than Zhejiang have joined the race to serve as hosts.