In downtown Shanghai are using the pilot CBDC. Vendors are being added to China’s CBDC programme after it was launched last year in a bid to keep control of spending and cash within the central authorities. Tests began among public authority workers in Suzhou city before being rolled out to wider use in Shenzhen and Chengdu. McDonald’s and Starbucks are among the big-name outlets that have also signed onto the pilot. The digital yuan could pose a risk to bitcoin and other leading digital currencies.
Sudden surge of selling pressure in China could set off a chain of events that destabilize bitcoin and its peers. the digital yuan will have the same value as banknotes and coins, and would be the country’s legal tender. There is national credit endorsement and “legal compensation” also attached.
This is not something a business or an individual can refuse to use, local media Eastmoney wrote last year, suggesting the government will ensure other digital payments such as Alipay and WeChat pay will also suffer.