China aims to launch the world’s first official digital currency
Little by little, the central bank will acquire more power to track how money is used
CENTRAL BANKS have had a busy pandemic. Along with injecting vast amounts of money into the financial system, they have cleaned vast amounts of it—literally. From America to South Korea, central banks have quarantined and disinfected potentially contaminated banknotes. This hassle should make them all the more interested in a digital-currency pilot now under way in China. If successful, it could change how central banks manage both liquidity and physical cash.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Virtually money”
Finance & economics April 25th 2020
From the April 25th 2020 edition
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