China is giving away central bank digital currency to the people

According to report in Chinese newspaper Global Times, citizens of a selected district of the megacity Shenzhen received a total of 15 million yuan in digital form (around 2.2 million euros) for free on April 29th.

The Times describes the giveaway as the “latest step in spurring consumption amid the new wave of Omicron outbreaks and promoting the use of the digital currency.” Packages with 130,000 E-Yuan (more than 18,000 euros) are to be raffled off in a competition on the social network WeChat.

It is questionable that China, characterized by altruism, is now paying aid to its citizens due to the pandemic without any ulterior motive. Rather, the motivation to continue promoting the e-yuan seems to have carried more weight. In turn, critics emphasize this again and again, will be an important tool for the Chinese government in the development and expansion of its surveillance state and will support the state in being able to trace every trade, no matter how small, thanks to blockchain technology.

China: Crypto plans not limited to central bank digital currency

First the mining ban, then the ban on BTC transactions. The Middle Kingdom has paralyzed the Chinese crypto industry – in favor of the digital central bank money controlled by the state itself, which was used as a test during the Winter Olympics in Beijing, among other things.

But China’s crypto plans go further: In addition to the digital central bank currency, the country is also planning to build its own industry for NFTs, which, however, should do without crypto currencies.