Cryptocurrency issued by the central bank for Chinese customers

A report published by Forbes shows that the Chinese People’s Bank is ready to launch its own cryptocurrency. This project has been in operation for about five years and aims to provide a so-called CBDC (cryptocurrency issued by the central bank).

Forbes cites two sources claiming that seven major institutions will receive the new cryptocurrency to distribute it to China’s 1.3 billion customers. These include Alibaba, Tencent, Union Pay and an association of Chinese banks.

According to the article, these institutions will be responsible for

“Distribution of cryptocurrency to 1.3 billion Chinese citizens and others doing business in renminbi (the official Chinese currency)”. The central bank of China “hopes that the currency will eventually be made available to the United States.”

Apparently, the currency called DC / EP – an abbreviation for digital currency / electronic payments would be released in mid-November.

It matters who launches the first cryptocurrency issued by the central bank

The plan to use trusted institutions to distribute a cryptocurrency is not a new idea. The Libra project of Facebook has the same intention, the association responsible for its management is currently formed by 28 major companies. Last week, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney presented the idea of ​​a new digital currency backed by a number of central banks to replace the US dollar as the global reference currency.

However, China seems ready to launch such a project first, because it has the benefit of government support. In its capacity as a private project, Libra has generated mistrust from the authorities. At the same time, the currency proposed by Carney would require cooperation from change-resistant banking institutions.