Major Chinese cities, including Shenzhen, Jinan, and Lianyungang, have reportedly launched approximately 200 activities involving the digital yuan during the Spring Festival. The authorities aim to boost the asset’s adoption during one of the largest holidays in the country.
To encourage usage during the Spring Festival (a seven-day long holiday that marks the start of “the Year of the Rabbit”), the local government has initiated digital yuan activities worth over 180 million yuan ($26.5 million) in several cities.
In Shenzhen, a city in South China with a population of nearly 13 million, the authorities distributed 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) to support the domestic catering sector. Meanwhile, residents in Jinan, Lianyungang, and Hangzhou in the east could use digital yuan coupons to purchase goods during the holiday. Hangzhou’s citizens quickly took all the provided funds, using them to pay bills in supermarkets, transportation, and tourism in e-CNY.
China’s efforts to boost the adoption of its CBDC have previously reached Chengdu and the capital Beijing alongside other Chinese cities. The former’s residents received $4.6 million worth of it at the beginning of 2021, while the latter got $6.2 million several months later.
Chinese Cities Expanding CBDC Adoption
While dealing with cryptocurrencies is banned in Chinese cities, interest in a domestic CBDC has increased. The most populous country will have 140 million yuan digital wallets by the end of 2021, including 10 million business accounts. The volume of e-renminbi transactions reached nearly US$10 billion. By early 2022, the number of personal digital yuan wallets reached 261 million, and the transaction volume will increase to US$13.8 billion.
The Chinese government allowed the product to be used during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. According to sources, players and spectators consumed over $300,000 worth of e-yuan every day during the games. The initiative has previously sparked tensions between the two economic superpowers, China and the United States. Senators Marsha Blackburn, Roger Wicker and Cynthia Lummis are urging the US Olympic Committee to ban e-dollars over espionage concerns.
