China is making significant progress in the field of digital assets and the metaverse. Ningbo, a city in China’s Northeast Zhejiang Province, announced on August 23 that it would begin accepting digital yuan (e-CNY) at its 125 metro stations as part of a pilot program.
All 9.5 million city residents can now use the service by simply linking their e-CNY wallets to the subway system’s dedicated app. After that, commuters must scan the QR code at the ticketing counter, and the fee will be deducted automatically. Furthermore, as part of the pilot program’s promotional offer, a random sample of citizens will be able to ride the subway for as little as one penny until September 4.
According to a local news agency, Changjiang Daily, Ningbo is the ninth city in China to accept e-CNY payments for public transportation. Guangzhou is another major Chinese city that has begun to embrace the digital yuan in a big way. Along with Ningbo, it has begun to accept CBDC payments for public bus rides on ten transit routes, a first for the country, according to a CoinTelegraph article.
Guangzhou began accepting digital yuan on city tram rides in May. At the same time, Xiamen City permitted citizens to recharge their public transportation cards with e-CNY.
The push to increase digital yuan mainstream adoption and utility has become very visible. To integrate e-CNY payments, the Chinese government has even collaborated with food-delivery giant Meituan and the e-commerce platform JD.com. The strategy appears to be working, with 830 billion ($121.4 billion) in e-CNY transactions recorded in the first five months of 2022.
Aside from the digital yuan, China is looking to expand its Web3 initiatives. Beijing announced yesterday a two-year Metaverse innovation and development plan that will run from 2022 to 2024. The initiative calls on all municipalities in China’s capital to monitor and incorporate NFT and metaverse trends into the education and tourism sectors.
The development plan’s main goal is to drive internet growth toward Web3 and position Beijing as a digital economy benchmark city. According to the official document, the plan also includes the creation of a Metaverse theme park and lifestyle center. Shanghai announced a similar Metaverse development plan last year, calling for the use of Web3 in the entertainment, public services, business, and industrial manufacturing sectors.
Given China’s tough stance on the digital asset industry, these developments are a surprise. The government banned Cryptocurrency mining in 2021, forcing the fledgling industry to relocate, with the majority of miners relocating to Kazakhstan and the United States. Later, the Chinese government issued regressive monetary policies for NFTs. Tencent had to shut down one of its NFT platforms, and Alibaba had to cover all mentions of its NFT marketplace just hours after it launched.
Any government adoption of digital assets and the Web3 protocol, on the other hand, is a positive sign for the cryptosphere. Perhaps it will set off a chain reaction, bringing other countries into the fold of digital assets and increasing mainstream adoption of virtual currencies and experiences.
