China to Hold Beijing Lottery for CBDC Trial

The lottery will award 200,000 winners about $31 in digital yuan.

Jun 2, 2021, 8:10 AM

Updated Aug 19, 2021, 9:50 AM

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China will hold a third lottery to trial its central bank digital currency (CBDC), giving out free wallets containing a total of over $6 million in digital yuan.

The lottery will take place in Beijing this month, making it the third city to trial the CBDC, known as eCNY.
There will be 200,000 winners, each given 200 digital yuan ($31), Reuters reported Wednesday.
The winners will need to download an app to receive and spend their winnings at designated retailers around the city.
Beijing residents have until June 6 to enter, with winners to be announced a few days later.
This trial follows similar lotteries in Shenzhen and Suzhou in recent months as the country steps up development of what would be the world's first CBDC by a major economy.

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Jamie Crawley

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