Original title: "Digital RMB will be loaded with smart contracts related to currency functions"

first level title

High security, smart contracts related to currency functions can be loaded

In the English version of the white paper released this time, for the English abbreviation of digital renminbi, the former name DCEP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment) has been replaced, and the abbreviation is tentatively designated as "e-CNY" in accordance with international usage practices.

The digital renminbi is designed to take into account the advantages of both physical renminbi and electronic payment tools. It not only has the characteristics of physical renminbi payment that is settlement and anonymity, but also has the characteristics of low cost, strong portability, high efficiency, and difficult forgery of electronic payment tools.

Regarding the anonymity of digital RMB (controllable anonymity), the anonymity here is controllable anonymity, that is, "anonymity for small amounts, traceable for large amounts according to law", and attaches great importance to personal information and privacy protection. According to Mu Changchun, director of the Digital Currency Research Institute, at the beginning of this year, the current payment tools, whether it is a bank card, WeChat, or Alipay, are all bound to the bank account system. Bank account opening is a real-name system, which cannot satisfy anonymous demands. The digital renminbi is loosely coupled with bank accounts, which can technically achieve small amounts of anonymity.

Mu Changchun emphasized that the protection of user privacy by digital renminbi is the highest level among current payment tools.

first level title

The development of cryptocurrencies, especially global stablecoins, is one of the research and development backgrounds of the central bank’s digital renminbi

It is worth noting that, in addition to the needs of the development of the digital economy, as well as changes in the functions of cash and its use environment, cryptocurrency and digital currency research and development in other countries around the world have also become an important background for promoting the development of central bank digital currency.

According to the latest survey report of the Bank for International Settlements, about 86% of the central banks of 65 countries or economies have carried out digital currency research, and the number of central banks conducting experiments or proof-of-concepts has increased from 42% in 2019 to 60% in 2020. According to relevant public information, the central banks of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Sweden, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Singapore and other countries and the European Central Bank have announced their considerations and plans for central bank digital currencies in various forms in recent years, and some have even begun to Preliminary testing is done.

Since the inception of Bitcoin, various so-called cryptocurrencies have been launched by the private sector, according to the white paper. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 10,000 influential cryptocurrencies, with a total market value of over US$1.3 trillion. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin use blockchain and encryption technology, claiming "decentralization" and "complete anonymity", but the lack of value support, violent price fluctuations, low transaction efficiency, and huge energy consumption make it difficult for them to be used in daily economic activities. function as currency.

first level title

The digital renminbi system integrates the characteristics of centralized and distributed architectures, forming a mixed technical architecture with the coexistence of stable and sensitive dual modes, and the integration and development of centralized and distributed.

The digital renminbi system integrates the characteristics of centralized and distributed architectures, forming a mixed technical architecture with the coexistence of stable and sensitive dual modes, and the integration and development of centralized and distributed.

At a media briefing held on the 16th, Mu Changchun, director of the Central Bank’s Digital Currency Research Institute, said that blockchain has the advantages of data immutability and traceability, but has shortcomings in performance and scalability, and is more suitable for low-concurrency , low-sensitive asset title confirmation, transaction transfer, account book verification and other scenarios. In the transaction layer of the digital renminbi payment system, in order to support high concurrency and low latency, and realize the public directly holding the central bank's claims, a centralized structure is adopted, and all cross-institutional transactions are transferred through the central bank; at the same time, an encrypted character-based The string of digital renminbi expressions retains the characteristics of security, anti-double spending, and unforgeability, and can also load smart contracts with currency-related functions to promote business model innovation.

At the issuance layer of the digital RMB payment system, a unified distributed ledger is built based on the alliance chain technology. The central bank, as a trusted institution, uploads the transaction data to the chain through the application programming interface to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of the data. The operating agency can conduct cross-agency reconciliation, Account book collective maintenance, multi-point backup. The digital RMB system combines the blockchain consensus mechanism and programmable smart contract features to realize automatic account reconciliation and automatic error handling.

first level title

There have been more than 1.32 million digital renminbi pilot scenarios, covering multiple fields such as basic necessities of life

Since the end of 2019, the central bank has carried out digital RMB pilot tests in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiongan, Chengdu and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Starting in November 2020, 6 new pilots will be added in Shanghai, Hainan, Changsha, Xi'an, Qingdao, and Dalian The current pilot provinces and cities in the region basically cover different regions such as the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, central, western, northeast, and northwest regions, which is conducive to testing and evaluating the application prospects of digital renminbi in different regions of my country.

As of June 30, 2021, there have been more than 1.32 million digital renminbi pilot scenarios, covering life payment, catering services, transportation, shopping, government services and other fields. Opened more than 20.87 million personal wallets and more than 3.51 million public wallets, with a total of more than 70.75 million transactions and an amount of about 34.5 billion yuan.

In addition, in view of the progress of preparations for the application of digital renminbi in the Beijing Winter Olympics scene, Fan Yifei, deputy governor of the central bank, said that the digital renminbi Beijing Winter Olympics scene pilot mainly focuses on food, housing, transportation, travel, shopping, entertainment, and medical services for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Pay attention to the payment service needs of the seven key areas, create distinctive pilot scenarios and products, and facilitate the use of domestic and foreign public. Especially for the convenience of overseas athletes, coaches, referees and tourists in China, the People's Bank of China will guide participating institutions to launch APP-based wallet services and hardware-based wallet service solutions according to the actual needs of overseas users.

In the future, the People's Bank of China will continue to steadily promote the pilot research and development of digital renminbi in accordance with the national "14th Five-Year Plan" plan, without a preset launch timetable. The central bank will further expand the coverage of pilot application scenarios, and at the same time, combine the actual research and development pilot work to expand the scope of participating research institutions and pilot testing areas. Research and formulate relevant management measures for digital renminbi, and strengthen the protection of personal information in digital renminbi.