China’s Xiong’an New Area, a district that is located about 60 miles southwest of Beijing and that serves as a testing ground for new economic ideas, has started using the digital yuan, a central bank digital currency (CBDC), to pay some workers.
- In a statement Saturday, the Xiong’an government described the digital yuan pilot as the nation’s first “on-chain” payment being used for builders’ wages.
- Xiong’an said the Shijiazhuang branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the reform and development bureau of Xiong’an’s management committee were involved in guiding and supporting the project.
- The region is using the Blockchain Fund Payment Platform to pay the wages.
- China has been testing digital currency trading platforms in different regions and setting up a legal framework for a CBDC with global financial regulators.
- The PBOC has been working on trials of its digital yuan with commercial banks and payment providers.
