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Essay / The Future of China's Digital Form of Currency
The Central Bank of China has released information indicating that China will most likely release a "digital currency" soon. They are considering using this digital currency instead of paper because it costs less than printing, promotes trade, and could minimize the likelihood of tax evasion and money laundering. The concept was created in 2014 by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and it studied its possible use by observing and testing how it works locally and globally. Even if the central bank is enthusiastic about introducing the currency, it could prove difficult to convince Chinese citizens to use it. They are generally conservative and it would be a big change to move all their money into a whole new intangible economic system. This idea of digital currency is partly a response and an idea taken from Bitcoin which is still an authorized currency in China. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Recently, new updates have been released regarding the prospect of legitimization of digital currency provided by the Chinese government. In mid-February, the PBOC revealed that it would definitely implement a cryptocurrency it created itself. They will make sure to encrypt your money to regulate how money is transferred and its value. They propose that the new cryptocurrency will be easier and more convenient to use, that it will improve the People's Bank of China's ability to control monetary circulation and the money supply. In an interview with Governor Zhou Xiachuan, he said the currency would be used in "mobile payments, cloud computing, secure chip and blockchain technology" to create the new currency network (Rizzo). However, they are not yet sure about blockchain technology as it is currently inefficient in terms of the resources needed to make it work. Additionally, the new currency will improve privacy compared to things like Bitcoin. Bitcoin transactions are visible within a blockchain and addresses are blocked quite well thanks to a complex system, but it has not proven to be the most secure. They plan to create this cryptocurrency by working with people in the financial and technology industry to ensure that they can release it quickly and ensure that there are few to no bugs and that they are quickly crushed if they occur. However, a major concern regarding this new currency is that it could pose major problems regarding the current digital currency, namely Bitcoin. So far, China has taken a very soft approach to Bitcoin by not really applying many regulations to it. They let them operate freely in China and it now represents a very large part of the Chinese market. Bitcoin China actually charges no trading fees and imposes no fees on international spending. This allows people with a lot of Bitcoin to trade with people in other countries without fees, causing China to lose money that would usually come in. As for when the new cryptocurrency will arrive in China, nothing is confirmed. However, its transition into the economy will certainly be slow and will probably not completely replace paper money. It will expand to smaller areas and slowly expand throughout China over the years. For the foreseeable future, this slow progression will spread across China and coexist with paper currency and slowly overtake it with incentives to use.