China’s digital yuan expands to five more cities

Residents in five more Chinese cities were able to access digital yuan wallets starting Thursday, marking a major development for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) globally.

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Fast facts

• Users on Chinese social platform Weibo in Hangzhou, Nanjing, Tianjin, and Quanzhou claimed to open digital yuan wallets on Thursday, while a media outlet in Guangzhou purchased groceries using the digital yuan in a local shopping mall.

• A Weibo user from Tianjin told Forkast that he received a 40 yuan (US$6) bonus after opening a digital yuan account.

• Only users based in digital yuan pilot cities can open accounts for now. It wasn’t immediately clear which other cities will be next.

• China’s CBDC — the digital yuan, or e-CNY — topped US$11.24 billion in historical transactions by the end of 2021 and recently concluded its international debut at the Winter Olympics.

• The People’s Bank of China said in its March work-plan meeting that it will expand digital yuan pilots in 2022.

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