Hong Kong FinTech Week started with an exciting announcement by guest speaker Mr. Mu Changchun, Director-General of the Institute of Digital Currency, People's Bank of China (PBOC) about the potential launch by China's central bank of its very own digital currency. This announcement was made during a panel discussion regarding a central bank digital currency and how it will shape the future of payments.
Mr. Mu Changchun was speaking with Vachira Arromdee, Assistant Governor, Financial Markets Operations Group, Bank of Thailand on the subject with the panel moderated by Edmond Lau, Senior Executive Director, Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The exact time-line and implementation is still to be finalized but its potential is far-reaching.
Commentators have said that as the technology in this space is getting more mature, it is highly likely that China's central bank will be the first to issue a national digital currency. The new digital currency will be called Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP).
China is the first major economy to explore launching its own digital currency and established a PBOC-backed research institute to study the field in 2016. The PBOC plans reportedly to make the coins available through four state-owned banks, as well as certain online payment platforms.
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