Li Lihui, senior leader of the blockchain research group at the National Internet Finance Association (NIFA) of China, says the launch of the central bank’s digital currency is imminent.
Appearing in a livestream held by People’s Daily covering the issuance of China’s digital yuan and how it will impact cash flow and monetary policy, the former governor of the Bank of China pinned digital currencies at the core of the future global digital economy, according to the report.
Lihui also expects blockchain-based digital assets to thrive but their future will depend on breaking through to large-scale applications. CoinNess reports that Lihui believes that the key hurdle is crypto’s hallmark volatility. If solved, the emerging digital assets could also go mainstream and power payments at scale.
Last year Lihui remarked that China, the world’s second-largest economy, was too dependent on foreign blockchain technology, referring to Chinese initiatives based on Quorum, Ethereum’s public enterprise solution, and Hyperledger, founded by the Linux Foundation with contributions from IBM.
He urged for industrial policies that give preferential treatment, including for taxes and fees, to research and development teams and companies that are building digital tech infrastructure to power the new economy.
Pushing President Xi Jinping’s agenda to position China as the world leader of blockchain, the National Intellectual Property Administration of China has seen an uptick in filings, granting 2,191 blockchain patents from 2017 to 2019.
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