Digital Yuan Development Accelerate with Industrial Park Launch

• China hits a milestone in its digital yuan development as it opens its first business and industrial park in the city of Shenzhen.

• $13.7 million has been allocated to promote the facilitation of its payment solutions across multiple industries. 

China’s Central Bank Digital Currency also called the digital yuan has been in development since 2014 and is meant to provide opportunities for economic influence abroad while providing an option to its fragile financial system.

According to reports, it will be valued the same as the standard renminbi (RMB). FPRI Fellow Bob Murray has explained that CBDC makes transactions faster, cheaper, and more secure and would function the same as withdrawing money from the ATM. 

According to the latest update, China has opened its first business and industrial park in the city of Shenzhen to promote the digital yuan. The city of Shenzhen is known as a global center for technology, manufacturing, and finance in the Chinese Guangdong province.

The industrial park also known as the digital yuan (e-CNY) is located in the Luohu district. A local news portal discloses that nine financial institutions currently have offices there. The development of the local digital yuan ecosystem has received massive support with the district government announcing 10 initiatives for its successful implementation.

The plan is expected to be fulfilled in the next three years. In support, $13.7 million would be allocated for its implementation. 

According to Huang Tuo, head of the Luohu financial services department, the launch of the industrial park marks a milestone in China’s CBDC development.

The establishment of China’s first such park marks a significant milestone in the nation’s digital currency development process.

More on the Digital Yuan Ecosystem Development

In addition to supporting the digital economic sector, the $13.7 million would be used to facilitate payment solutions across various industries. A portion of the fund would also go into the implementation of smart contracts while promoting the operation of the e-CNY.

It is important to note that the pilot phase of the digital yuan was announced in 2019. As of 2022, 26 cities and 5.6 million merchants had joined the trials. As of June 2023, e-CNY transactions had surpassed 950 million. Its total value was said to be 1.8 trillion yuan ($246 billion). 

The organizers of Luohu Park disclosed that the intention is to attract commercial banks involved in the digital currency system as well as other specialized entities to build the digital yuan ecosystem. According to reports, rent-free space for up to three years is available for entities that would consider the park.

Such entities would also be considered for a low-interest loan. In addition, startups in the digital yuan business would be able to receive up to 50 million yuan ($6.8 million) as incentives. 

The receptivity has so far been encouraging with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) disclosing that 261 million people had set up a digital yuan wallet in 2022. Some reports have stated that many e-CNY wallet holders created the accounts with the hope of getting some free cash. In 2022, 11 pilot cities launched e-CNY lotteries with a total giveaway of $50.47 million.

It is also important to note that the target market for the digital yuan is currently local, however, the foreign market would be considered as well. For some reason, some experts are hoping that the digital yuan investment will drive millions of investors to privacy coins such as Monero, Dash, and ZCash. 

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