- Over $315,000 digital yuan is being used everyday at the Winter Olympics.
- The Chinese central bank is actively promoting the adoption of the digital yuan.
- Some express concerns of cybersecurity and privacy.
The Chinese digital currency — e-CNY — currently makes 2 million yuan ($315,761) of payments per day. This is the estimated amount provided by Digital Currency Research Institute Director-General Mu Changchun during the webinar hosted by the Atlantic Council.
Central bank digital currency (CBDC) is a digital version of a nation’s fiat currency. The Bahamas is one example of a country with a fully functioning digital currency. That being the case, China’s attempt at a digital currency, being this large, is being closely watched by the world. The country’s CBDC launch was even expedited for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Additionally, this experiment is especially interesting as there will be a massive number of people from worldwide attending the Games. And all of these people will be encouraged to use e-CNY via smartphones, payment cards, or wristbands.
The Director-General said:
I have a rough idea that there are several, or a couple of million digital yuan of payments every day, but I don’t have exact numbers yet.
Mu also states that people from outside the country preferred to use hardware wallets more. He is referring to the e-CNY payment cards. Furthermore, he explains that software wallets are mainly used by domestic users.
The PBOC has been actively promoting the use of the Chinese CBDC at the 2022 Winter Olympics. In fact, the Bank of China went the extra mile and set up numerous special ATMs at certain venues of the Games. This allows foreign guests to convert their respective banknotes into e-CNY or normal yuan banknotes.
There are, on the other hand, people who are concerned about the cybersecurity and privacy risks involved in this project. US Senator Marco Rubio views the e-CNY as a security threat to individual users. He has even sent a letter to President Joe Biden expressing his concerns.