It is reported that the central bank's legal digital currency is expected to be launched after the Spring Festival

On December 28, multiple sources confirmed to the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the central bank's digital currency research has achieved phased results. The reporter exclusively learned that the prototype system demo of the central bank's legal digital currency is expected to be launched after the Spring Festival. Previously, the prototype plan for the central bank to issue legal digital currency had completed two rounds of revisions.

This is another major breakthrough following the digital currency seminar held by the People's Bank of China on January 20, 2016, which for the first time stated the strategic goal of issuing digital currency, and the series of measures taken by the state and the central bank to continuously promote the implementation of the central bank's digital currency, such as launching a special digital currency project in July this year and publicly releasing professional recruitment information in November.

"The central bank has made up its mind to promote digital currency, and it has thought it through very clearly." In this regard, a person familiar with the central bank said. "Now, the central bank is concerned about how to implement it and what problems need to be solved, especially security issues. This is the top priority. Previously, the relevant departments of the central bank also held multiple rounds of discussions with some security subcontracting companies."

"However, the current version will continue to be upgraded in the future, and this will not be the final version." The head of a blockchain company in Hangzhou told reporters that day.

Previously, Fan Yifei, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, wrote that the operating framework of China's legal digital currency tends to be a "central bank-commercial bank" binary model, that is: the central bank is responsible for the issuance and verification and monitoring of digital currency, and after commercial banks apply for digital currency from the central bank, they are directly facing the society and are responsible for providing digital currency circulation services and application ecosystem construction services.

On the same day, another person familiar with the matter said that the Digital Currency Research Institute directly under the central bank was officially established in December this year, with Yao Qian, head of the preparatory group of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China, as the director. However, on the same day, the 21st Century Business Herald reporter was unable to contact the relevant person from the central bank for comment.