China’s Digital Currency to Have “Controllable Anonymity”
- Official from China’s central bank said that the country is not trying to gain “full control of the information of the general public”.
- He further said that the country’s digital currency is developed with the aim of complementing the paper yuan.
Hand opening the curtains to find funny group of users behind. Illustration of monsters and alien-friendly and cool cute hand-drawn monsters. Freepik
China is looking to strike a balance between anonymity and the authorities’ need for information with its proposed digital currency, Reuters reported on 12 November.
According to the report, the head of the Digital Currency Research Institute at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), Mu Changchun, said that the digital currency that is being developed is aimed to complement the paper yuan.
With that said, the design of the so called Digital Currency Electronic Payment system will seemingly provide China with unprecedented oversight over money flows.
Making his comments during a conference in Singapore, Mu further said that the PBoC is not looking to gain full control of users’ personal data, but is also trying to fulfill the authorities’ need for information.
He said:
“We know the demand from the general public is to keep anonymity by using paper money and coins… we will give those people who demand it anonymity in their transactions. But at the same time we will keep the balance between the ‘controllable anonymity’ and anti-money laundering, CTF (counter terrorist financing), and also tax issues, online gambling and any electronic criminal activities.”
While Mu stated that China’s goal is not to gain “full control of the information of the general public”, there are divided opinions in the crypto circles.
Yesterday Jack Lee of HCM Capital, who predicts that we will see China’s digital currency launched in the next 2-3 months, said that the PBoC has already been tracking cash movements through serial numbers on banknotes for a decade, and that blockchain will only strengthen that oversight.
- The head of China’s central bank digital currency institute said the e-CNY has undergone a major upgrade, and should be made available as an option in all retail scenarios.
- The PBOC official noted that platforms can integrate the CBDC in the short term using QR codes, and focus on upgrading their payment tools in the long run.
Office building of the People’s Bank of China. Flickr
- The team behind Multichain confirmed that their CEO was detained in China on 21 May, and that all of his electronic devices were confiscated by the local police.
- The CEO’s sister moved the project’s remaining funds to wallets under her control on 9 July, and several days later was also detained by the police, leaving the team with no funds.
- A new 13-count superseding indictment has accused Sam Bankman Fried of bribing one or more Chinese officials in order to unfreeze accounts connected to Alameda.
- In early 2021, Chinese authorities froze certain Alameda accounts on two of China’s largest crypto exchanges”, which reportedly held more than $1 billion worth of crypto assets.