China is advocating for the adoption of its CBDC at a rapid pace. Reportedly, major Chinese cities like Shenzhen, Jinan, and Lianyungang, have launched approximately 200 activities involving the digital Yuan during the Spring Festival.
Sources reveal that the authorities aim to boost the asset’s adoption during one of the largest holidays in the country.
According to recent coverage, the local government started digital Yuan activities worth more than 180 million Yuan ($26.5 million) in several cities to encourage usage during the Spring Festival (a seven-day long holiday to mark the start of “the Year of the Rabbit”).
The authorities of Shenzhen, a South Chinese city with a population of nearly 13 million, distributed 100 million worth of digital Yuan ($14.7 million) to support the domestic catering sector. Similarly, the eastern cities like Jinan, Lianyungang, and Hangzhou introduced digital Yuan coupons, which residents can use to purchase goods during the holiday period.
Interestingly, Hangzhou’s citizens seemed most interested, taking all the provided funds in less than ten seconds as reported by Todayq News. Also, several commercial institutions took part in the promotions too by allowing consumers to pay bills in supermarkets, transportation, and tourism in digital Yuan.
China’s efforts to boost the adoption of its CBDC have previously reached Chengdu and the capital city Beijing. The residents of Chengdu received $4.6 million worth of it at the beginning of 2021, while the residents of Beijing got $6.2 million several months later.
Sources reveal that JD.com, one of the largest Chinese e-commerce platforms allowed clients to settle bills in Chinese CBDC during Singles Day’s shopping festival in November 2021. Apparently, more than 100,000 people took advantage of the offering.
Singles Day is an unofficial Chinese holiday that honors those not in a romantic relationship. It has turned into the busiest shopping day in the nation.
While China has placed a strict ban on cryptocurrencies, interest in the domestic CBDC has been rising. Data revealed that the number of digital Yuan wallets in the country reached 140 million at the end of 2021, 10 million of which were corporate accounts and the transactions hit almost $10 billion.
At the beginning of 2022, there were 261 million individual digital yuan wallets, while transactions surged to $13.8 billion.
The government of China also allowed the usage of the product during the 2022 Winter Olympic Games held in Beijing. Sources informed that athletes and visitors employed over $300,000 worth of digital Yuan daily during the tournament.
Such efforts have led the country to set high targets regarding adoption and usage of CBDC. Last week, the Chinese city of Suzhou unveiled its new plan to promote the adoption of digital Yuan (e-CNY). The city intends to transact about $297 billion worth of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) this year.
However, despite all these efforts and projections, the adoption of the digital Yuan in the country has been slow. A former Chinese central banker, expressed disappointment regarding the low adoption and usage of the e-CNY. He said that as of October last year, the cumulative digital Yuan transactions had only crossed over 100 billion Yuan ($14 billion).