TechFlow news, on January 9, according to Caixin, starting from January 1, balances in digital yuan wallets will begin earning interest. It is understood that its smart contracts are different from the "on-chain" smart contracts made famous by Ethereum and built on blockchain technology. A senior digital yuan expert pointed out that the digital yuan is not built on blockchain, but rather on a newly designed account system where the central bank and commercial banks jointly maintain "the same ledger." By loading "smart contracts that do not affect monetary functions," the digital yuan achieves programmability, supporting features such as targeted payments and automatic execution.
In addition, Caixin also disclosed that currently only real-name authenticated digital yuan wallets will earn interest—specifically Class I, II, and III wallets—while non-real-name Class IV wallets will not earn interest (as ownership of Class IV wallets cannot be verified). After January 1, mobile banking apps of participating banks, as well as payment platforms such as WeChat and Alipay, will gradually gain the ability to open digital yuan wallets.
