Mu Changchun, Director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China: Under the value model of digital RMB, smart payments can be provided on blockchain
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Mu Changchun, Director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China: Under the value model of digital RMB, smart payments can be provided on blockchain
TechFlow reports that on October 12, Mu Changchun, Director of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) Digital Currency Research Institute, recently published an article in "Current Affairs Report" pointing out that steadily advancing the research, development, and application of digital RMB is a key component of China’s strategy to become a leading financial power. The article emphasized that digital RMB, operating through a two-tier system and combining both account-based and value-based models, has already achieved widespread application across various scenarios such as wholesale and retail, and social governance. In the future, digital RMB will deepen its development in areas like cross-border payments and smart contracts, supporting RMB internationalization and the establishment of a unified domestic market. According to a survey by the Bank for International Settlements, digital RMB has become one of the world’s leading central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects. Currently, the digital RMB pilot program covers 26 regions across 17 provinces (municipalities), with further expansion planned. As of the end of July 2024, the digital RMB app has accumulated 180 million personal wallet registrations, with a total transaction value of 7.3 trillion yuan in pilot regions. Digital RMB combines both account-based and value-based models and leverages data capabilities to achieve a unified, real-time ledger: under the account model, it can integrate and interoperate with the traditional banking account system; under the value model, it enables value transfer via tokenized forms ("coin strings"), supporting not only blockchain-based smart payments but also offline usage in extreme scenarios such as "no network" or "no power," thereby optimizing traditional trade finance processes and enabling cost reduction and efficiency gains. The People's Bank of China will establish and improve regulatory, operational, and self-regulatory mechanisms for digital RMB, further refine top-level design, advance the construction of institutional rule systems, and expand digital RMB use cases from retail to wholesale, and from
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsTechFlow News, October 12 — Mu Changchun, Director of the Digital Currency Research Institute at the People's Bank of China (PBOC), recently published an article in "Current Affairs Report" stating that steadily advancing the research, development, and application of digital RMB is a key component of China’s strategy to become a leading financial power. The article emphasized that the digital RMB, operating under a two-tier system and combining account-based and value-based models, has already achieved widespread application across multiple scenarios including wholesale and retail transactions, as well as social governance. In the future, digital RMB will deepen its development in areas such as cross-border payments and smart contracts, supporting RMB internationalization and the establishment of a unified domestic market. According to a survey by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the digital RMB has become one of the world’s leading central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects.
Currently, digital RMB pilot programs span 26 regions across 17 provinces (municipalities). Further expansion and deepening are planned. As of the end of July 2024, the digital RMB app has accumulated 180 million personal wallet registrations, with a total transaction value of 7.3 trillion yuan within pilot regions. The digital RMB combines both account-based and value-based models and leverages data capabilities to achieve a unified ledger system nationwide. Under the account model, it can integrate and interoperate with the traditional banking account system; under the value model, it enables value exchange via tokenized forms ("coin strings"), supporting not only blockchain-based smart payments but also offline functionality in extreme conditions such as "no network" or "no power." This optimizes traditional trade finance processes and supports cost reduction and efficiency improvements.
The People's Bank of China will establish and improve regulatory, operational, and self-regulatory mechanisms for digital RMB, further refine top-level design, and advance the construction of institutional rule systems. It aims to expand digital RMB use cases from retail to wholesale, and from payments to broader financial services including deposits, loans, remittances, and investments—more effectively fulfilling the functions of legal tender and enhancing the efficiency of financial resource allocation, risk management, and service delivery. Under the two-tier operational framework, the PBOC operates the central bank-side digital RMB system, providing public infrastructure for transaction routing and settlement. Meanwhile, it encourages diverse entities to participate fairly and competitively under legal and compliant conditions, delivering high-quality services to the public. Through a hybrid system architecture and intelligent data analytics, a unified national ledger linking the central bank and participating institutions will be formed. Regulatory technology will be applied to enhance statistical, monitoring, and management capabilities—supporting both central bank mandates and the development of a unified domestic market. The digital RMB adopts a modular design that can flexibly connect with foreign central bank infrastructures, enabling "one connection, full access" across jurisdictions. Wallet registration is convenient, and adherence to the principles of "non-detriment, compliance, and interoperability" helps build mutual trust among different jurisdictions, giving digital RMB a natural advantage in cross-border applications.
