According to Bloomberg, People’s Bank of China is reportedly close to launching its very own digital currency. While the rumour of China launching a cryptocurrency was long in the air, it is now that a senior official has confirmed that the country is in the final stages of completing the “crypto project”.
The information comes from Mr. Mu Changchun, who is the deputy director of the People’s Bank of China payments department. While he did not elaborate on the details of the upcoming cryptocurrency, he said that the digital currency is very close to being out in the market. The announcement happened during the China Finance 40 Forum which was held in Heilongjiang.
Mr. Mu explained the purpose of the coin: it will actually serve to replace cash, or M0, but not M2, which is essentially credit. The coin, according to Bloomberg, will also work to bolster the circulation of the yuan and the internalization.
As Leaprate reported on a few occasions, China has been expressing its concerns over Libra, Facebook’s cryptocurrency. The country stated that a currency of such proportion, namely the audience it targets, should be regulated by a central bank.
The upcoming cryptocurrency of China, as opposed to other cryptocurrencies whose major role in society is to be decentralized, will be under the regulatory oversight of Beijing.
Users and businesses will be able to exchange their local currency for the digital one by downloading a mobile app and doing the swap through it. This way, the People’s Bank of China will be able to see exactly how much, by whom and where the digital currency is exchanged.