Top Central Bank Official: Chinese Commercial Banks Should Adopt Blockchain
- Li Wei echoed the Chinese presidential speech, calling for adoption of blockchain technology in digital finance.
- During his speech, he focused on how blockchain could be a solution to China’s current banking problems.
China Merchants Bank building in Shanghai, China. Wikimedia Commons
Another top official from the Chinese government has endorsed the adoption of blockchain technology in the country, Reuters reported on 28 October.
Speaking at a forum in Shanghai the head of the People’s Bank of China’s technology department, Li Wei, urged commercial banks to integrate blockchain technology into their operations.
During the forum, Wei spoke about the digital economy, and the potential blockchain has in it.
He also said:
“The potential is huge. We need to study blockchain technology in depth, promote the deep integration of blockchain. […] The digital transformation of commercial banks must also attach great importance to the blockchain.”
While Wei focused on how blockchain could be a solution to China’s current banking problems, the country’s president Xi Jingping has previously gone beyond banking, and said that the technology could help in areas such as education, employment, food safety, and others.
President Xi made his comments on 24 October, when he was speaking during a Politburo Committee session in Beijing.
He said:
“We must take blockchain as an important breakthrough for independent innovation of core technologies, clarify the main directions, increase investment, focus on a number of key technologies, and accelerate the development of blockchain and industrial innovation.”
It seems that China is trying to take the lead when it comes to blockchain technology.
The country has already made plans to launch its own “digital yuan”, which development has been hastened ever since Facebook announced their plans to create a global cryptocurrency, Libra.
The country has also recently passed a new cryptography law, which aims at tackling regulatory and legal challenges in the commercial cryptography use-cases, as they play a big role in the development of the Chinese economy.
- 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.