The digital yuan test in China is in full swing. DCEP lottery winners use the digital yuan in over 3,300 shops.
While other countries are still exploring the opportunities and risks associated with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), China's digital yuan trials are in full swing.
People have already received the DCEP and started using it at convenience stores.
Shenzhen metro ticket machine also has features to top-up metro cards with the digital yuan along with “DCEP accepted here” signs.
According to BlockBeat, nearly 2 million people in Shenzhen applied for the “Luohu Digital RMB Red Packet” lottery on the blockchain-based public services app operated by the Shenzhen government.
However, the lottery's winning rate has been only 2.61%, as only 50,000 received 200 RMB ($30) from the government through the lottery, which brings the total DC/EP giveaway to RMB 10 million ($1.47 million).
The digital wallet - “Red card” for the digital Yuan, was launched by China Construction bank at the end of August 2020.
The idea here is to stimulate demand for the new digital Yuan, according to the South China Morning Post - Deng Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank, predicts the total demand for the program will be 50 million Yuan.
These DC/EP will be spendable at 3,389 designated shops in Luohu this week, from 12th to 18th October 2020.
“China is doing blockchain airdrops using central bank digital currency. Technology moves forward. Don't get left behind,” tweeted Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
According to him, although “Nothing beats bitcoin in terms of decentralization,” despite the being “fairly restrictive/centralized,” these CBDCs will “get the masses exposed to and comfortable with blockchain technologies.”