Yuan

China's Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) digital yuan, or e-CNY, has won a certain victory after completing tests in major Chinese cities. But the next war is now being fought between digital payment giants WeChat and Alipay.

More than 60% of the world's Central Banks are now pursuing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). Could this possibly challenge the autonomy of the US dollar?

Countries that have just started participating in the development of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are doing pretty well. Ghana is now launching its digital cedi in two months. In contrast, China started launching its digital yuan back in March 2018 and has yet to succeed.

As America tries to catch up in the development of the digital dollar, several obstacles still stand in its way. Congress remains divided on the issue, giving China even more of a chance to win.

Although China has cracked down on cryptocurrencies in recent years, it remains the largest bitcoin mining country in the world, with more than 65% of the total hashrate.

In a move to test its state-owned CBDC dubbed e-CNY, China has given away digital red envelopes embodying its prototype CBDC in Beijing and Shanghai to test the digital yuan (e-CNY). Reportedly, the Winter Olympics (WO) vendors will also allow e-CNY for payments.

China is accelerating its pursuit of a digital yuan that is anticipated to be finally rolled out before the end of 2021. One of the reasons to issue its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) is to keep a close eye on and control the transactions of the citizens.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in its central city of Wuhan, China became a target of blame by the world. While Beijing hosts the 2022 Winter Olympic Games next February, it is doubted that many will visit the Asian country. This puts the plan to present the digital yuan to the world at stake.

As many countries are competing to see who will be the first to launch an effective working central bank digital currency (CBDC), China seems to be in the lead of this game. The country has carried out several trials of its digital yuan in different parts of the country.