China starts digital yuan pilot trial on app stores

China has released pilot versions of its digital yuan wallet application on both iOS and Android app stores. Meanwhile, the central bank takes it a notch higher by developing its digital currency. The local media, BlockBeats China took to Twitter to announce the launch.

The ‘e-CYN” app (pilot version), which was developed by the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) digital currency research institute, was available to download on the Chinese Android and iOS app stores, on Tuesday in Shanghai.

PBOC governor, Yi Gang had said in November 2021, that, the country opts to continue to advance the development of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and enhance its design, usage, and interoperability with existing payment tools.

However, to download the trial app and activate the wallet, it is a requisite for users to reside in one of these 11 places in China: Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong’an, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hainan, Changsha, Xi’an, Qingdao, Dalian, and the Winter Olympics area.

An early start for yuan wallet’s CBDC in China

While countries all over the world are still at the stage of investigation of Digital currency technology, The Chinese have embraced an ahead of time pilot through CBDC for public use.

The PBOC had been at it, racing ahead with its own CBDC project, rolling out a virtual version of the yuan in trials across many provinces, for a while now. Many experts have said that the PBOC is likely to be the first to fully launch a CBDC.

What China’s CBDC could mean for the world

China is one of the very few countries that favor technology becoming far more important than money. By issuing a digital yuan, the country isn’t looking to dismount the U.S. dollars as the reserve currency, according to experts. In addition to rolling out the digital yuan in domestic pilots, the Chinese have made use of the digital yuan as a condition in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, as a successor to the Trans-Pacific Partnership that includes China and not the U.S. More importantly, it is accelerating a reality first broached by cryptocurrency that with the right technology, own money can be created and the rails to move it.