(Focus on Boao) Deputy Governor of the Central Bank: No specific timetable for the promotion of digital RMB
China News Service, Boao, April 19 (Reporter Zhang Xu Liu Liang) On the evening of April 18, the 2021 Sub-forum of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference "Digital Payment and Digital Currency" was held in Boao, Hainan.
Li Bo, the deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, participated in the meeting in the form of online video. This is also the first time that Li Bo has made a public appearance on behalf of a regulatory agency after returning to the central bank.
The central bank has conducted digital RMB pilot projects in many places. When asked about the experience gained in the pilot program, Li Bo said that he has learned a lot and talked about three points of experience:
The first entity will be the central bank's two-tier system that can work. In terms of digital currency, such a two-tier system is actually the same as physical currency.
With regard to CBDC (central bank digital currency), a two-tier system design is adopted, which can be compatible with the current currency and banking system, thereby ensuring that the risks in the process of financial disintermediation can be minimized.
The second entity will be able to achieve a kind of controllable anonymity, or anonymity under good management. The central bank's multi-level system can be anonymized for small transactions, and can be tracked for large transactions. A design is an ideal feature of a digital currency.
The third entity will be able to try a set of hybrid systems. The electronic renminbi or digital renminbi is linked to the account system, or the quasi-account system, and the token system, so that different degrees of coupling can be achieved under different technical solutions. The system is a fairly open system.
So far, the pilot has been quite successful.
As for the specific promotion plan of the digital renminbi, Li Bo said that there is no specific timetable yet, but it is still being promoted. There are several things to be done before the digital renminbi is promoted to the whole country. The scope of the pilot project.
In Li Bo's view, it is necessary to further build the infrastructure and ecosystem of the digital renminbi, which also includes the technology ecosystem, and at the same time further improve the security and reliability of the system.
At the same time, a corresponding legal and regulatory framework must be established to regulate digital RMB business.
The upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing is an opportunity to promote the digital renminbi.
Li Bo said, “Now we are considering more scenarios and more cities to conduct pilot projects. For example, during the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, we will make the digital renminbi available not only for domestic users, but also for international guests. We will continue to conduct pilot projects in the future so that more usage scenarios can be covered in the pilot project, and the ecosystem construction will be further strengthened during the pilot process."
Li Bo also responded to whether the digital renminbi can promote the internationalization of the renminbi: "The development focus of the digital renminbi is currently mainly to promote domestic use. As far as the internationalization of the renminbi is concerned, we have repeatedly stated that this is a natural process. Our goal is by no means to replace the U.S. dollar or other international currencies. Our goal is to let the market make choices."
In order to achieve further internationalization, the central bank is exploring different ways to achieve interoperability between central bank digital currencies.
Li Bo explained: "Interoperability is a very complex problem, and we are not eager to find a solution now. Now we choose different options to experiment with different technologies, and we are all open minded. Our goal is to build a very solid domestic digital renminbi and build a healthy ecosystem. At the same time, we must also cooperate with international partners, hoping to have a long-term cross-border payment solution."
It is worth noting that on the same day the forum was held, global cryptocurrencies were sold on a large scale and their prices plummeted.
On the morning of April 18, Bitcoin crashed, plummeting nearly $8,000 within an hour.
Other digital currencies fell across the board. Ethereum plummeted 20%, Binance coin plummeted 17%, Ripple plummeted 26%, Dogecoin plummeted 19%, and Litecoin plummeted 28%.
As of noon on the 18th, more than 620,000 cryptocurrencies on the entire network have been liquidated in the past 24 hours, with a liquidation volume of US$5.579 billion.
This change also attracted the attention of the forum.
Li Bo clearly pointed out that “to ensure that speculation in encrypted assets does not cause serious financial risks, this must be done.”
He also added, “Encrypted assets are an investment option. They are not currencies in themselves, but alternative investments. Therefore, we believe that encrypted assets should play a role in the future, either as an investment tool or as an alternative investment. Use it as an investment. In terms of tools, many countries, including China, are also studying what kind of regulatory environment should there be for such an investment method. Although this regulatory rule is the minimum regulatory rule, there is still a regulatory rule." (End)