The Shenzhen government says it’s currently conducting research into the development of a digital currency.
Sources from the Shenzhen municipal financial regulatory department said to Securities Times that it is currently driving work in relation to digital currency research, as well as reform of the registration system for the venture capital board.
In August a senior official from the Chinese central bank said that the release of a statutory digital currency in China was all but imminent.
According to the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) the statutory digital currency would involve a “two-tier system”, with the central bank first exchanging it with major financial institutions who would in turn exchange it with consumers.
Beijing subsequently designated Shenzhen as a likely location for conducting digital currency trials, given the high concentration of key tech and financial players in the city.
The “Politburo State Council Opinions Concerning Support for Shenzhen Establishing an Advanced Demonstration Zone for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” (中共中央 国务院关于支持深圳建设中国特色社会主义先行示范区的意见) call for Shenzhen to “develop digital currency, maritime finance, an intellectual property rights transaction center, venture capital board reforms, renminbi internationalisation and green finance.”
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