China to strengthen control over digital currencies
2023.01.31 02:43
China to strengthen control over digital currencies
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – In order to “promote the healthy development” of the nonfungible token (NFT) sector and to stomp out fraud and other risks associated with it, authorities in the southern Chinese province of Hainan have pledged to increase oversight.
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) made a separate announcement announcing that it is developing new features for its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot program, also known as the digital yuan or eCNY.
A comprehensive strategy for dealing with the NFT sector in the future was outlined in a public notice published on January 29 by the market regulator of Hainan and nine other province agencies.
The regulator is focusing on promoting NFTs as a part of the digital economy, particularly as a means of attracting foreign investment to the Hainan Free Trade Port, according to a translation of the document.
The province agencies, on the other hand, stated that they want to control the NFT market in a way that stops “market chaos” like fictitious value, copyright theft, fraud, money laundering, and misleading information.
Under current frameworks like the “anti-unfair competition law,” some of the outlined measures include “severely” cracking down on false propaganda, preventing copyright infringement by directing and urging internet platforms to remove such content, and cracking down on fraud.
In addition, public education has been prioritized by highlighting the “risks and laws” of the industry so that consumers can “purchase cautiously” and avoid losses caused by excessive NFT speculation.
While the asset class has not been subjected to significant blanket bans, in contrast to private cryptocurrencies, the Chinese government has frequently been quick to discourage any kind of speculative behavior since the sector’s explosion in popularity.
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) plans to add new features to its ongoing pilot trials of the digital yuan, according to an announcement posted on Jan. 30 via Baidu.
In order to make the CBDC easier to use, the bank suggested that it is developing a QR code-based transaction system so that “consumers can ‘scan with one code.'”
Additionally, it emphasized that these technological integrations will assist China in “realizing the interconnection between the digital renminbi system and traditional electronic payment tools.”
Merchants will be able to “support various transactions” while limiting consumer costs, according to a claimed advantage of the QR code system.
The PBoC emphasized that it had implemented approximately 30 digital yuan red “envelope activities” in which it airdropped small amounts of the asset to citizens in 2022 after piloting the CBDC in 17 provinces.
The campaign was used to get people to use the asset, especially to get people to pay for “low-carbon travel” like public transportation.
By incorporating smart contracts earlier this month, the eCNY network received a significant upgrade.
Local crypto media outlet 8btc reported that Meituan’s food and retail-focused delivery app introduced smart contract features.
A smart contract searches for keywords and the purchased items in a user’s order when they place and pay with their e-CNY wallet. A user is entered into the drawing to win a portion of a prize worth approximately $1,300 if they purchase something from the day’s keyword list.
