As one of the most anticipated events in the Chinese national calendar, the Dragon Boating Festival nears, Beijing has decided to give away red envelopes containing more than 200 digital Yuan, China’s CBDC, to trigger the mainstream usage of the currency.
Just like the previous testing of the currency, the current would involve a lottery system, which only the residents of the country’s capital can access through a banking app run by the Chinese industrial and commercial bank.
Beijing’s residents would need their identity cards and mobile numbers to participate in the lottery that is likely to be held from June 5 to 7th. Meanwhile, the bank revealed that the winners would be announced a day ahead of the big festival, to be held on June 12.
Besides that, the red envelopes will be valid till June 20, and as many as two thousand retailers and businesses across the city will accept the DCEP. Previously, the government held its first test of its CBDC in February, which Beijing touted as a success.
However, this one is four times bigger than the last one, and the giveaway involves more than 40 million Beijing residents.