During the Winter Olympics, digital yuan worth over $315,000 were traded daily. A senior official at the country’s central bank has revealed that foreign users use hardware wallets, while locals prefer to use software wallets.
China’s name has come up repeatedly in recent months when it comes to the central bank digital currency (CBDC), as the country has launched a series of initiatives to spread the digital yuan.
In April 2021, authorities announced that athletes and foreign visitors to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be able to use digital yuan once the sporting event begins.
The director of PBOC’s Digital Currencies Research Institute shared that over $300,000 worth of digital yuan was issued daily during the event, with CBDCs also popular among international tourists.
“I have a rough idea that over two million yuan was paid every day. But we don’t have exact numbers yet.”
Mu Changchun, Director of the PBOC Digital Currency Research Institute
It is worth noting that the use of digital yuan during the Olympics has caused tension between China and the United States. U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn, Roger Wicker and Cynthia Lummis have recommended that the U.S. Olympic Committee ban the use of digital yuan at the Winter Olympics.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry countered, urging Americans to “follow the spirit” and not get the Chinese financial system into trouble. It also jokingly added, “The US doesn’t really know what crypto is.”