The official yuan digital wallet app that was launched as a pilot version to be used in select cities has managed to topping the app store charts in its first week.
Developed by the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), The app was available for download on China’s Android and Apple app stores last Tuesday.
The application is still in an experimental phase and is only accessible to selected individuals through authorized e-CNY service providers. While anyone in China can download the app, its use is limited to select cities.
Despite these limitations, the South China Morning Post reported that e-CNY managed to become the most downloaded app on Apple’s App Store one day after its launch, surpassing Tencent’s WeChat super app. She was dethroned by video-sharing app Kuaishou on Saturday.
The app enjoyed similar success on Xiaomi’s mobile app store, a popular platform for Chinese Android users. It topped the list in a day before falling to second place on Monday, according to market researcher Qimai. The app ranked 43rd on Huawei’s mobile store on Monday, jumping 10 spots in one day.
After years of development, China started the digital yuan pilot programs in April 2020 and has since become a pioneer in the development of central bank digital currency (CBDC), to the point where the country plans to enable CBDC payments in the US. 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, scheduled for next month.
The digital yuan even became a topic of debate for several United States senators, who signed a letter urging Olympic officials to ban American athletes from using the digital yuan during the event.
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