China’s Digital Yuan Set for Local Adoption, Airport, Banking Drives

cryptonews.com:

China’s digital yuan is edging ever closer to a nationwide rollout, with banks, airports, and provinces looking to boost their adoption efforts following last month’s Winter Olympics and ahead of the Paralympic Winter Olympics.

The Paralympics begins on March 4, and overseas attendees will again be invited to make use of the digital CNY at Olympic venues in the capital Beijing and other parts of the country hosting events. But media outlets in the country hinted that the pilot is looking yet further ahead, with multiple Chinese provinces making multiple mentions of digital CNY in their latest five-year plans.

JRJ reported that in a raft of new, economic development-focused five-year plans – the 14th such iterations since the People’s Republic of China was founded – the digital yuan was mentioned on more than one occasion by “more than 10 provinces and cities.”

Henan Province, for instance, wrote of its intention to make “clear strides” to advance the pilot in the “digital economy” section of its plan – although the central People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is still yet to announce an official launch date.

Meanwhile, small and medium-sized Chinese banks appear to be throwing themselves into digital CNY business with great gusto. Earlier this year, two smaller financial institutions announced that they would no longer handle banknotes and coins – and would focus their efforts almost entirely on e-CNY business.

The China Business Network (via East Money) reported that “a number of urban commercial banks” have recently begun cooperation efforts with major domestic banks, most of which have been working with the PBoC on the pilot for several years.

The report explained that these efforts included a project that will see Chinese