Category: Blockchain

Beijing: Subway accepts digital yuan | Cointelegraph

“China continues to expand the scope of its digital central bank currency (CBDC). Now you can pay for transport services with the digital yuan for the first time.

According to an official announcement on Wednesday, the Beijing subway launched a pilot program in which passengers can pay for the use of 24 subway lines and four subway stations with the digital yuan (e-CNY for short).

The new service is only available to customers with a bank account at the Chinese industrial and commercial bank. The big bank is involved in China’s CBDC testing. “You need to download a mobile app that is linked to your bank account to use the service,” said a spokesman for the Beijing Railway Network.”

Read the full article @ Cointelegraph:

Peking: U-Bahn akzeptiert digitalen Yuan
Peking ist ein wichtiger Ort für die Tests mit dem digitalen Yuan in China. Dort gibt es viele Integrationen für den e-CNY.

Hong Kong launches pilot program with digital yuan | Crypto Valley Journal

“Hong Kong’s finance minister firmly spoke of the need for digital transformation and confirmed that the region will conduct technical tests on China’s digital central bank currency (CBDC) in the form of a digital yuan in 2022.

Hong Kong Finance Minister Paul Chan Mo-po said in an essay posted on the ministry’s website on June 27 that the organization would begin technical testing of the digital yuan. Guided by the idea of “keeping up with the times”, Mo-po began his essay by saying that he was aware of how enthusiastically the Chinese public used consumer vouchers and discounts with e-wallets. This motivated him to reflect on the impact of the digital yuan, which he believes will increase the public’s interest in digital systems, as mentioned earlier.“”

Read the full article @ Crypto Valley Journal:

Hongkong lanciert Pilotprogramm mit digitalem Yuan
Hongkongs Finanzminister sprach entschieden von der Notwendigkeit der digitalen Transformation und bestätigte, dass die Region technische Tests mit der

China: First blockchain payment of wages in digital yuan | Cointelegraph

“China is making progress in testing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) and introducing blockchain payments for the first time to get your salary in digital yuan.

According to the official website of the Xiong’an New Area, the Chinese central bank PBoC has paid out wages on-chain in digital yuan for the first time.

On Saturday, Xiong’an authorities said the pilot project was led by the Shijiazhuang-based PBoC branch and supported by the Bank of China Hebei in Xiong’an and the National Development and Reform Commission.”

Read the full article @ Cointelegraph:

China: Erste Blockchain-Bezahlung von Löhnen in digitalen Yuan
Chinas Zentralbank hat erstmals Blockchain-Zahlungen beim digitalen Yuan verwendet.

China’s Much-Hyped Digital Yuan Fails to Impress Early Users | Bloomberg

“As China moves closer to rolling out the world’s first major sovereign digital currency, speculation over the global implications has reached a fever pitch.

Historian Niall Ferguson is calling the digital yuan a “potentially fatal challenge” to decades of American financial hegemony. Franklin Templeton’s Michael Hasenstab says it could undermine the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency. Joe Biden’s White House is studying the potential threat to U.S. interests.

Yet talk to people who’ve actually used the digital yuan in China, and you’re more likely to get a different response: shrugs of indifference.

In Shenzhen, the high-tech metropolis that just extended China’s largest digital yuan trial, participants interviewed by Bloomberg showed little interest in switching from mobile payment systems run by Ant Group Co. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. that have already replaced cash in much of the country. Some balked at the possibility a digital yuan might give authorities easier access to real-time data on their financial lives.”

Read the full article @ Bloomberg:

China’s Much-Hyped Digital Yuan Fails to Impress Early Users
As China moves closer to rolling out the world’s first major sovereign digital currency, speculation over the global implications has reached a fever pitch.

Alibaba-backed AI startup SenseTime to help China handle digital Yuan | Cointelegraph

“As China is moving forward with blockchain projects amid the COVID-19 crisis, the government has tapped another tech partnership to continue the development of China’s digital yuan.

Domestic artificial intelligence (AI) startup SenseTime has partnered with the People’s Bank of China’s (PBoC) Digital Currency Research Institute to provide its AI expertise amid the reported trials of the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC).”

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Alibaba-Backed AI Startup SenseTime to Help China Handle Digital Yuan
Hong Kong-based AI startup SenseTime partnered with PBoC’s digital currency research unit to continue the development of the digital yuan.

Bank of China expands tests of New Fintech Regulation to six more cities | Cointelegraph

“Bank of China launched its first fintech innovation regulatory pilot project in Beijing last year. The bank announced plans to expand its regulatory pilot projects in six more cities and districts on April 27.

The bank plans to conduct pilot projects in Shanghai, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Hebei Xiong’an New District, Hangzhou and Suzhou. Ultimately, it aims to improve the financial services in general for the real economy.”

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Bank Of China Expands Tests of New Fintech Regulation to Six More Cities
Bank of China continues to strengthen fintech regulation, expanding pilot projects in six more cities and districts.

Meet Red Date, the little-known tech firm behind China’s big blockchain vision | coindesk

““Initially I thought blockchain, especially distributed ledger technology [DLT], had no commercial value because it was too expensive,” said Yifan He, CEO of Beijing Red Date Technology. “Then I realized we can actually build a multi-framework platform to reduce the cost for everyone.”

That realization is a core idea of the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), a government-supported initiative scheduled to open for global commercial use Saturday. As the only one of the three original founding companies with a specialized software background, Red Date initiated the project and has been spearheading the network’s technical design.

“I think nobody has ever heard of it. But actually, in many ways, Red Date Technology plays a critical role in the development of BSN because they are the one who architected the BSN,“ said Michael Sung, a professor at Fudan University’s Fanhai International School of Finance. “They are the one who actually created the technology strategy which went up to the [National] Development and Reform Commission. They made that happen.””

Read the full article @ coindesk:

Meet Red Date, the Little-Known Tech Firm Behind China’s Big Blockchain Vision – CoinDesk
The de facto architect of China’s ambitious national blockchain project reveals his game plan for making the technology cheap and easy for businesses.

Ping An’s blockchain, AI-based consumer finance firm launches in China with $700m funding | Ledger Insights

“Yesterday, China’s Ping An Insurance announced it has set up Ping An Consumer Finance in Shanghai with a registered capital of RMB 5 billion ($700 million). The new company has been established under Ping An’s ‘finance+technology’ strategy and incorporates the Group’s expertise in AI, blockchain and cloud computing.

Ping An said its technology system would underpin the entire consumer finance business, including customer acquisition, product innovation, credit review, risk management, post-lending management and customer service. The goal is to create synergy between other group companies and form a closed-loop financial system.

[…]

Ping An has a significant presence in the blockchain space, with 68 blockchain patents. It also has 679 AI patents and 48 in cloud computing. OneConnect Financial, an AI and blockchain offshoot from the group, went public on the New York stock exchange last year.”

Read the full article @ Ledger Insights:

Ping An’s blockchain, AI-based consumer finance firm launches in China with $700m funding – Ledger Insights – enterprise blockchain
Giant Chinese insurer Ping An has now launched Ping An Consumer Finance with a capital of $700 million. It will leverage the firm’s blockchain and AI tech

China’s national blockchain will change the world | coindesk

This week, China will officially launch a major new blockchain initiative called the Blockchain-based Services Network (BSN). The BSN is a critical part of China’s national blockchain strategy that was announced by President Xi in late November 2019, but went largely under the radar as the simultaneous announcement of China’s digital RMB currency, called the DCEP, swept the world by storm. Only recently has the Western media recognized the significance of the BSN, which sees its mainland commercial launch April 25. The portal’s global commercial launch is scheduled for June 25.

Essentially, the BSN will be the backbone infrastructure technology for massive interconnectivity throughout the mainland, from city governments, to companies and individuals alike. The network will also form the backbone to the Digital Silk Road to provide interconnectivity to all of China’s trade partners around the globe. The BSN will be a new internet protocol to allow a more efficient way to share data, value and digital assets in a completely transparent and trusted way between anyone who wants to be a node on the network.

The main BSN founding consortia partners are the State Information Center (China’s top-level government policy and strategy think tank affiliated with the National Development and Reform Commission), China Mobile (China’s largest national telecom with over 900 million subscribers), China Unionpay (the world’s top payment and settlement provider with eight billion issued credit cards), and Red Date Technologies (the main blockchain architect for the BSN).

Read the full article @ coindesk:

Michael Sung: China’s National Blockchain Will Change the World – CoinDesk
As China rolls out its Blockchain-based Services Network (BSN), an insider describes the

China rolls out pilot test of digital currency | WSJ

“Milestone for world’s biggest central banks in path toward launching electronic payment system. China’s central bank has introduced a homegrown digital currency across four cities as part of a pilot program, marking a milestone on the path toward the first electronic payment system by a major central bank.”

Read the full article @ Wall Street Journal:

China Rolls Out Pilot Test of Digital Currency
Milestone for world’s biggest central banks in path toward launching electronic payment system

Blockchain now officially part of China’s technology strategy | coindesk

“The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) told reporters Monday blockchain will join other emerging technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT) in underpinning the systems China uses to manage the flow of information in the coming years.”

Read the full article @ coindesk:

Blockchain Now Officially Part of China’s Technology Strategy – CoinDesk
The authority responsible for China’s economic strategy has said blockchain technology will form past of the basis of the country’s information infrastructure.

China starts trial of digital currency in four cities | Caixin

“China’s central bank confirmed that some state-owned banks are conducting internal tests of a digital currency in four cities and hypothetical use for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.”

Read the full article @ Caixin (paywall):

China Starts Trial of Digital Currency in Four Cities
After screenshots of pilot wallet app circulate on social media, central bank confirms tests are underway including scenarios for use of new digital yuan at 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

These Chinese blockchain platforms are launching soon, here is why | Forbes

“Just a few months since China’s president Xi Jinping announced blockchain as one of the country’s technological priorities and advocated to “seize the opportunity”, there has been a lot of progress on the main blockchain initiatives and most of them will be in production very soon.

The ultimate goal is to enable and establish the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and large Chinese enterprises like Tencent, Huawei, Baidu and Ant Financial as the world leaders in new-breed payments infrastructure with unique features, to undermine the significance of the U.S. dollar as a global trade currency with the launch of Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) and to establish Chinese blockchain technical standards which will help adopt and scale the technology faster.”

Read the full article @ Forbes:

These Chinese Blockchain Platforms Are Launching Soon, Here Is Why
The Chinese government, government-related companies and large private enterprises are making fast and effective progress in creating blockchain infrastructure at scale. DCEP wallets is in the final testing phase with four of the largest Chinese banks. BSN will be officially live next week.

China’s digital currency to start pilots | Ledger Insights

“China’s much anticipated Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will start pilot testing this month, according to local outlet Caijing. The first firms involved are the four major state-owned banks, the three big telecoms companies and Huawei, which recently signed a cloud deal with the People’s Bank of China.

According to Fan Yifei, the deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the currency has completed its top-level design, formulation, functional research and testing. The next step is to launch pilots, which are planned for Shenzhen and Suzhou.

The currency is referred to as the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP). That’s in part because it is a two-tier currency, where the first part involves the commercial banks converting some of their central bank deposits into digital currency. And the banks then distribute this digital currency to consumers. The process is intended to mirror the way physical cash is distributed.

The four state-owned banks involved are the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China. And the three telecoms companies are China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom.”

Read the full article @ Ledger Insights:

China’s digital currency to start pilots – Ledger Insights – enterprise blockchain
China’s much anticipated Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will start pilot testing this month, according to local outlet Caijing. The first firms involved are the four major state-owned banks, the three big telecoms companies and Huawei, which recently signed a cloud deal with the People’s Bank …