China’s Residents Will Receive 15 Million Yuan In Digital Currency As part of the Government’s CBDC Giveaway

According to the Global Times, the government of Shenzhen's Futian district has announced that 15 million yuan ($2.27 million) in digital RMB (e-CNY) will be awarded to local inhabitants on Friday, April 29.

A total of 130,000 red packets will be issued through a lottery conducted utilising Wechat payment. Consumers can spend the red packets at almost 5,000 stores within the district without making a minimum purchase.

According to the report, this is the first time that digital yuan has been issued simultaneously by all eight pilot banks and a range of sectors such as restaurants and supermarkets.

Not the first CBDC giveaway in Shenzen

Shenzhen, China's third largest city, was one of the first test locations for the e-CNY, and the Chinese government has already distributed digital yuan on several occasions.

In October 2020, residents of Shenzhen will receive a total of 10 million digital yuan from the government. The red packets could only be redeemed at 3,389 specifically authorised establishments in the Luohu district when they were originally introduced.

China's central bank announced earlier this month that the number of places where its digital currency will be tested will be expanded.

The digital yuan is also being tested in other cities including  Shanghai, Chengdu, Xiong’an, Hainan, Xi’an,  Qingdao,  Dalian, Tianjin, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Chongqing,

According to the Chinese central bank's most recent figures, there were 261 million unique users of the digital yuan by the end of 2021. Furthermore, e-CNY has been used to conduct transactions of over 87.5 billion yuan ($13.8 billion).