Bitcoin price surge may be driving up interest in China's digital yuan

Interest in China’s digital yuan project could in part be driven by the surging price of bitcoin, China’s central bank said Thursday, even as the cryptocurrency is effectively banned in the world’s second-largest economy, CNBC reported.
 
China’s digital yuan is an example of a central bank digital currency which aims to replace some of the cash in circulation. The the People’s Bank of China sees it as a way to advance cashless payments. It is effectively a digital version of fiat currency.
 
The central bank has been working on a digital currency since 2014. According to CNBC, speaking to reporters, Wang Xin, PBOC research bureau dire­ctor, said market interest in the digital yuan is “very strong and everyone is paying close attention.”