Digital Yuan Giveaway – China hands out $1.49 million of its Central Bank Digital Currency

China has started one of the biggest real-world trials for its digital currency as it pushes closer toward creating a cashless future. Shenzhen - a China's major city is giving away 10 million yuan in the country’s central bank digital currency in one of the country’s biggest public tests. Last week, the government in Shenzhen carried out a lottery to give away a total of $1.49 million worth of the digital currency. Nearly 2 million people applied and 50,000 people actually won. Recipients can now download a digital renminbi app to receive the digital yuan and spend it this week at 3,389 stores in a particular district of Shenzhen. Local supermarkets and pharmacies are among the participating merchants, including Sinopec gas stations, Walmart stores, CR Vanguard malls and Shangri-La hotels. The south China technology hub is home to some of the country’s biggest tech giants including Huawei and Tencent. Through this action, the city aims for the giveaway to boost usage of the new government-backed digital currency. Also, this is part of the digital yuan pilot program that is being conducted in several major cities in China and the first public test of the digital currency. The digital yuan is not a cryptocurrency like bitcoin. It is issued and controlled by the country’s central bank - the People’s Bank of China (PBoC). It's aim is not to replace digital wallets like Alipay or WeChat Pay. It will more likely work together with them as well as other banks. In comparison, Bitcoin is decentralized, which means it’s not owned and controlled by one entity, and it is not distributed by a central bank neither. PBoC Deputy Governor Fan Yifei recently revealed that the digital yuan, known as the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP), has already been used in 3.13 million transactions worth about 1.1 billion yuan. In addition, the Shenzhen government recently rewarded about 5,000 medical and healthcare workers dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic with digital yuan. __________________________________________________ Sources: https://news.bitcoin.com/digital-yuan-giveaway-10-million-central-bank-digital-currency/ https:// issuu.com/platinumcryptoacademy/docs/cw_13.10.2020_1/s/11137843 https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/12/china-digital-currency-trial-over-1-million-handed-out-in-lottery.html