China’s CBDC to see test launch in two cities

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Updated on Mar 11, 2020

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China is speeding up its cryptocurrency program, with plans to launch the coin in two of its cities and run tests.
The cities that will see the launch of the so-called DC/EP coin will be Shenzhen and Suzhou.
China's decision to move forward with the launch was allegedly inspired by Facebook's announcement of Libra, earlier this year.

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China’s central bank announced plans to launch its upcoming cryptocurrency in two cities. The launch will serve as a test for the coin, while the date of the official launch still remains unknown.

The cities that will get to experience the upcoming coin are Suzhou and Shenzhen, as reported by Caijing. Furthermore, the local financial news agency also revealed that the People’s Bank of China partnered with seven other state-owned firms.

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Four of the firms are said to be commercial banks, while the rest of them are telecom companies. For now, however, there are no details regarding the partnerships, and even the names of the companies remain undisclosed.

However, some earlier plans included the distribution of the coin among several companies, including the Bank of China, China Construction Bank, the Agricultural Bank of China, as well as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Other than these banks, the coin will also be distributed to UnionPay, Tencent, and Alibaba.

The central bank named the currency ‘digital currency electronic payment (DC/EP)’. The coin’s distribution will be carefully controlled due to its decentralized nature. Furthermore, it is said that it would achieve a more prominent yuan usage, especially on a global level.

According to reports, the program will have two phases, and the first city to see its launch will be Shenzhen. Before the end of 2019, China’s regulator plans to hold a controlled trial. After that, they will promote the new currency throughout 2020.

China accelerated development due to Libra announcement

The coin itself has supposedly been in development since 2014. China planned to take its time and develop the coin slowly. However, after Facebook announced its own global cryptocurrency, Libra, the country decided to speed up the project and potentially launch it before Libra sees the light of day.

China is also not the only country to create its own crypto, although it might be the first to launch it. Similar plans were also announced by the Bank of France, which expects to see the launch of its own digital currency in 2020, as well.