By George Ward
China’s trial of a national digital currency (the digital Yuan) is coming along and gradually getting to its final stage. What’s new is the collaboration between China’s apex bank and a famous e-commerce firm. This comes heavily in the effort to accelerate crypto adoption. These two bodies will be doing another giveaway of digital coins worth $2.75 million in the form of an e-voucher in Fuzhou city.
According to multiple local news outlets, more than 200K national digital currency coupons will be issued to individuals who are residents of Fuzhou at the time they applied for the coupon during the month.
Those who have an interest must register using the e-commerce firm’s app. After that, this firm will distribute the tokens every day until November 30th, in no particular order.
However, China’s central bank and the e-com firm do not want receivers of this coin to keep their coins without spending them. As a result, they’ve developed a technique that automatically expires these coupons that the recipients didn’t use within 24 hours of receiving them.
Interested persons should remember that they can only claim these coupons on the JD.com platform. JD.com is among China’s top e-commerce firms and has contributed actively to the digital yuan development and pilot since 2020.
Expanding Digital Yuan Adoption Through Giveaways
China’s apex bank included Fuzhou city in the experimental digital Yuan program earlier this year, in April, along with the cities of Chongqing, Xiamen, Guangzhou, and Tianjin.
Industrial, financial, and technology cities such as Shenzhen and Shanghai have been involved in this trial phase. In addition, other cities have seen a high level of participation in similar giveaway events for the national digital currency. For example, in July this year, nearly 2.7 million Shenzhen residents out of its 18 million population registered for events similar to Fuzhou’s.
Last month, Fuzhou’s foremost institution of higher learning (the UIST) became the first firm to make land transactions using the digital Yuan. At the time, it paid a grand sum of more than $7 million to acquire one land plot.
In addition, the transaction was closed in partnership with China’s Agricultural Bank (ABC), a state-owned bank. The ABC is also among the banks working with China’s apex bank in developing the China CBDC.