Central Bank: China’s Digital Currency will Provide Anonymity

Mu Changchun was speaking at a conference in Singapore. He said:

 "We know the demand from the general public is to keep anonymity by using paper money and coins ... we will give those people who demand it anonymity in their transactions." 

Furthermore, Mu added that while maintaining anonymity, the central bank will also try to curb money laundering and financial fraud activities. He added:

“But at the same time we will keep the balance between the ‘controllable anonymity’ and anti-money laundering, CTF (counter terrorist financing), and also tax issues, online gambling and any electronic criminal activities. That is a balance we have to keep, and that is our goal.”

Moreover, Mu leads the China’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) initiative and has been a key voice in its development. Over the summer, he raised PBoC’s concerns over the proposed Facebook Libra project. In addition, Mu released a training course on the digital currency warning to people of its possible financial consequences, and what China is doing to further its CBDC.

Digital Currency Distribution

In addition, back in August, Mu claimed that the digital currency was ready for launch. However, another central bank official said there was no timetable for its issuance.  We have no idea whether the central bank will do this by distributing the CBDC to consumer-facing firms, which will then distribute it to the public. These firms are rumored to include tech giants’ such as payment apps AliPay and WeChat, alongside leading banks.

In conclusion,  just last week, Mu claimed that the CBDC would not require a linked bank account. He added that digital currency issuance is a “horse race”; in which “the leader will win the entire market” . He was explaining concerns about Facebook’s Libra.