The popularity of the Chinese national cryptocurrency increased by 14%

The digital currency of the central bank of China (CBDC) has reached a volume of 100 billion yuan (13.9 billion US dollars). This was reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) with reference to data from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).

This year, the volume of transactions in the Chinese electronic yuan increased by 14% compared to 87.6 billion yuan (12 billion US dollars) registered at the end of 2021.

It is worth noting that «only» 500 million people are currently using the electronic yuan. This means that the popularity of the digital national cryptocurrency can grow almost 2−3 times (the population of China is about 1.5 billion people).

For comparison, Alipay, the largest and one of the oldest payment instruments in the country, has processed payments worth 118 trillion yuan (16.4 trillion US dollars). This means that the national cryptocurrency is already breathing down the neck of the most powerful players.

The report says that China’s CBDC is being rolled out on an experimental basis across the country, with 23 cities currently covered by the program, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. The Chinese authorities have also recently proposed to international partners to create a single cryptocurrency for Asia.