Covid-19 corona virus outbreak does not seem to hinder China's intention to work on digital money similar to Bitcoin. These past few days have been circulating on social media screenshots of China's official digital currencies.
This screenshot of images circulating on social media is said to have originated from a trial version of a mobile application developed by one of the largest state-owned banks in China, Agricultural Bank of China. Reportedly the banks are trying internally in small groups to experiment with virtual currencies.
The Digital Currency Research Institute, the unit of the Chinese Central Bank, People Bank of China (PBoC), which oversees the development of the project refuses to comment on images of the screenshots and may not show the final version of the currency.
China was the first country to explore the launch of its own digital currency, which would be tightly controlled by the People's Bank of China rather than operate on a decentralized system that underlies cryptocurrency like bitcoin and does not require administration from a central authority.
Digital currency testing has actually been going on for several months in Chinese state-owned banks, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
"It should be confidential at this stage," said a source who did not want to be named to SCMP. "This leak offers a first glimpse of what kind of Chinese digital currency might be for the general public."
The second source, who is familiar with testing programs at state banks, said the screenshots were authentic.
The picture shows the digital currency application made by the Chinese government has several basic functions similar to other online payment platforms such as Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's WeChat Pay, which allows users to make and receive payments, and transfer money.
While China is busy developing its own digital currency. The PBoC is also known to crack down on other digital currency trading and prohibit banks from accepting cryptocurrency, which is seen as a risk of financial stability.
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