China’s Digital Currency is Real

Last week, the government in Shenzhen carried out a lottery to give away a total of 10 million yuan (about $1.5 million) worth of digital currency. The winners can now download a digital renminbi app to receive the digital yuan and spend it at more than 3,000 merchants in a particular district of Shenzhen. The digital yuan is not a cryptocurrency like bitcoin. Instead, it is issued and controlled by the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank.

Cash is hard to tax. Cash is hard to trace. Any government would “love” to eliminate physical cash and replace it with digital cash. Of course, at that moment, there’d be no reason to have accountants or tax collectors or any human beings involved; every transaction would be done through the government and the evolution of Big Brother would be complete.

In the U.S., approximately 30 percent of all transactions are done in “green dollar bills” with “no imperial involvement.” Could government-issued digital currency happen here? Would you use it?

 

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Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.

About Shelly Palmer

Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.

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