US lawmakers issue warnings to athletes

TL; DR Breakdown

• US lawmakers warn athletes against using digital yuan
• Toomey concerned about US interests
• China set to test digital yuan on a big stage

The Winter Olympics, which is scheduled to occur in China, would begin with much anticipation in the next few days. One of those anticipations is the deployment of the digital yuan that the country has been testing for use. However, some United States politicians are not happy about that and have forwarded a stern warning to the team representing the country at the event.

US lawmaker concerned about US interests

A recent report that Reuter released talked about the concerns forwarded to both Janet Yellen and Antony Blinken. The concerns were sent by Pat Toomey, a senator in Pennsylvania, while Yellen and Blinken are Secretary of State and Treasury. Toomey talked about previous news that made the round before the start of the competition of China rolling out its digital yuan for use at the event.

China has been working tirelessly to launch its digital yuan after major trials since 2020 officially. However, the country feels like this Olympics will allow them to test it on a grander scale among foreigners and athletes at the games. Toomey pointed out that once it is rolled out at the event, it could hinder the dollar from being used as an international exchange currency.

China plans digital yuan test on a big stage

The United States has often discussed rolling out its digital currency over the last few years but has not made a major move to that effect. However, Toomey said the United States could use the adoption statistics to its advantage while looking into its CBDC. The Senator mentioned that it is integral that the United States leads other countries on all fronts. That is a major reason they must be ahead in technological innovation.

Besides Toomey, other politicians, including Tom Emmer, have also voiced their concerns over their athletes using the digital yuan over their stay in the country. Some of these officials made their concerns heard at the US Olympic Committee about a potential surveillance tool that the digital yuan might be for China on their athletes.

The consensus that was agreed upon was that the athletes avoid malicious softwares by using burner phones throughout their stay in China. Despite undergoing testing for two years, the Olympic Games will be the best place to test out the use of the digital yuan. Asides from that, a digital metric showed that citizens of China have carried out transactions worth $13 million with the digital yuan. This metric was calculated from November 2021, and it involved more than 10 million merchants across the country.