China is one of the countries that work hard to develop their Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The DC/EP, as this new currency is called, has already passed preliminary tests with flying colors. It is steadily rolling out as we speak, in its endeavor to penetrate all major e-commerce platforms within this Asian country. Here’s a brief overview of this new digital currency.

What Is DC/EP?

The Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DC/EP) is nothing but China’s national currency, the yuan, in digital form. China’s central bank uses its yuan deposits to back up the DC/EP. The development of this new digital currency has been unfolding for over five years now. The current agreement with the banks is to convert a part of their yuan stash into this digital variant and distribute this money to businesses and individuals via mobile technology.

What Sets DC/EP Apart From The Other Cryptocurrencies On The Global Market?

The legal status is what sets apart the DC/EP from all other existing digital currencies. The DC/EP is legal and it can be used to pay for goods and services anywhere in China. All other cryptocurrencies have a not so clean status in this country.

In addition, there are two major differences between DC/EP and the other cryprocurrencies. The first is that all other cryptocurrencies are decentralized while DC/EP is controlled by the national bank of China. Decentralization means that the supply and the dynamics of a currency aren’t under the control of a single entity.

Anonimity is the second major difference between DC/EP and all standard cryptocurrencies out there. A standard cryptocurrency is anonymous, hence not allowing transactions to be traced back to the entities that initiated them. As opposed to this principle, the Chinese government tightly controls all levers and movements of the digital yuan. Find out more about investing in cryptocurrency.

How Does China’s Government Benefit From The Digital Yuan?

First of all, the digital yuan will allow China’s government to track the movement of money through its economy with better accuracy and in a more timely manner. This would enable them to make better decisions in regard to the planning of their future. Cash is still the main payment form in China, but other options such as the leapfrog card have gained a lot of momentum lately. These new payment forms use digital money transfers via a wide range of devices such as smartphones, token systems and QR codes.

The pioneers and the leaders of these transition are Alibaba’s AliPay and WeChat of Tencent Holdings Limited. These companies will surely reap the benefits of embracing the digital yuan. Also, the government will have an easier time at tracking the monetary flow, as digital tokens are easier to control than cash.

Second of all, China will use its digital yuan to open the mainstream economy to unbanked individuals. China has the largest number of individuals without a bank account or card. A digital currency will enable all these people to take part in the mainstream economy without the need for expensive infrastructure or banking products.

The third benefit of the e yuan is its tremendous potential to propel the Chinese currency to international reserve status. Economists and global bankers have been discussing the potential replacement of the U.S. dollar for international trading transactions since a long while ago.

China’s currency has great chances to take the spot of the U.S. dollar in these international transactions. This is something that comes naturally. Digitization should lead to an increase of yuan’s popularity among international traders.

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