China e-CNY in circulation hit 16.5 billion yuan as of Jun 30 this year, central bank governor says

CHINA’S central bank governor Yi Gang said on Wednesday (Jul 19) the country’s digital currency in circulation reached 16.5 billion yuan (S$3 billion) as of end-June.

Speaking at a lecture organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore held in the South-east Asian city-state, Yi said the digital currency’s transaction volume hit 1.8 trillion yuan in the same period, with total transactions reaching 950 million.

China has been a leader among countries that are developing their own central bank digital currencies (CBDC) – digital tokens issued by central banks, although adoption is still in the early stages. The e-CNY has so far been used mainly for domestic retail payments.

Chinese state-owned banks participated last year in a trial focused on cross-border transactions developed by the Bank of International Settlements. REUTERS