COVID protocols may limit test during Olympics

TL; DR Breakdown

• COVID protocols will limit test of digital yuan during Olympics
• Olympics attendants in quarantine
• $13 billion worth of digital yuan transactions recorded

Over the last few years, China has been working earnestly on the creation and rollout of its CBDC. Some months earlier, the country earmarked the Beijing Olympic Games 2022 as the perfect opportunity to test its CBDC. Although tests are already ongoing, this will provide great exposure for the digital currency among foreigners. However, new reports have suggested that the rollout of the digital yuan during the Olympics could take a beating.

Olympics participants in quarantine

Going by reports making the rounds, the test of the digital yuan may be stifled by the restrictions levied as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. According to a local news station, participants in the Olympics have been moved away from the entire population. This is because the country is trying to curb the spread of the virus, hence the quarantine.

Also, the government has announced that it will limit the number of spectators at the event owing to the same COVID guidelines. With this, testing the digital yuan and potentially using it as a legal tender during the Olympics is facing an uncertain future. Giving a review of the situation, an executive at the foundation of Defense for democracy, Craig Singleton, said that the Olympics was the ideal way to test the digital yuan.

$13 billion worth of digital yuan transactions recorded

Singleton mentioned that it will not be so anymore going by the recent publication of the Chinese government to reduce the number of people at the event. He said that this decision would drag the adoption of the digital currency two steps back. The report also claims that only 11,000 people would be kept away from the local population. Further deepening the regulation, the entire population outside the bubble will not be allowed at the games during the duration.

Although these measures have been in place already, the country has recently picked up new cases among participants and officials at the Olympics. China has been leading the pilot test of the digital yuan since 2020. Throughout that period, the country has given away millions of CBDC to citizens across various cities in China. As it stands, about 10,000 merchants have signed up for the tests, and about $13 billion transactions have been carried out using the digital currency.