Shanghai to Airdrop Millions in Digital Yuan

The Chinese city of Shanghai would airdrop 19.25 million digital yuan equivalent to USD 3 million via a lottery system as per the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality. The Chinese CBDC is currently being tested across the country at various levels after its development was completed in 2019.  A total of 350,000 digital red envelopes, each containing 55 digital yuan would be up for grabs for registered citizens. Interested citizens can register for the airdrop on the official WeChat accounts of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China between June 5 and 6.

China started testing the Digital Yuan in late 2019 and started offering it as a form of travel subsidy to the government employees and later moved to airdrops via a lottery system.

China is currently at the forefront of the CBDC game as the rest of the world is either at the planning or development stage. People’s Bank 3of China, the central bank started the development of the country’s central bank-issued digital currency in 2014. At present, the digital yuan is in the second year of testing across multiple cities and provinces in China.

G7 Nations Discuss CBDC Plans

China’s major lead in CBDC development and issuance has caused a sense of urgency among several European and American countries. The US is already treating the potential impact of digital yuan in the international trade market as a threat to its financial sovereignty. Many other countries have accelerated their CBDC plans looking at the progress of China.

The finance ministers and Central Bank officials of G7 nations came together for discussions around various financial regulations including universal taxation of 15% for the rich, as well as discussions around CBDCs and stablecoin development. The group published a set of design preferences for CBDCs.