The winners of a recent digital renminbi lottery held in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen have used some of their proceeds for daily purchases of vehicle fuel and restaurant meals.
The Shenzhen municipal government held a 10 million yuan digital renminbi lottery on the weekend of 10 – 11 October via iShenzhen – a blockchain-driven public services platform.
Shenzhen authorities announced on 11 October that a total of 1.913847 million people had registered for the “Luohu Digital Renminbi Red Packet” (礼享罗湖数字人民币红包) lottery trial, and that 50,000 winners had been selected, each receiving a digital “red packet” containing 200 yuan (approx. USD$30) in China’s new central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The reward money was dispensed via a link to a digital renminbi wallet, and could not be transferred to other individuals or into standard bank accounts. The 200 yuan contained in the wallets could instead only be used to make purchases during the period from 12 – 18 October at 3,389 select retailers in the Luohu district, in a bid by local authorities to spur consumption in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of the close of 18 October 47,537 of these winners had claimed their digital renminbi rewards, using them to make 62,788 transactions worth 8.764 million yuan.
PetroChina added online digital renminbi payment functions to 11 of its gas stations in the Shenzhen area on 13 October, enabling a Mr. Chen to use his digital renminbi reward to purchase 194 yuan worth of gas at one of the outlets on 16 October as well as two bottles of mineral water.
Wang Ling (王凌), another lottery winner, used her reward to purchase a 170 yuan meal at a designated restaurant in the Luohu district equipped to handle digital renminbi payments, as well as for 30 yuan in miscellaneous purchases at a local supermarket.
Related stories:
1.91 Million People Took Part in Shenzhen’s 10 Million Yuan Digital Renminbi Lottery
Shenzhen Uses Blockchain-driven Lottery to Distribute Digital Renminbi, Spur Local Consumption
