The price of cryptocurrencies has surged over the last few days following news that major central banks are discussing the possible introduction of their digital currencies.
The World’s top seven largest central banks together including the US Federal Reserve on Friday published the first central bank digital currency report that identifies “the foundational principles necessary for any publicly available CBDCs to help central banks meet their public policy objectives.”
The central banks and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), noted that the new currency should act “resilient,” and be available at low or no cost, following all necessary legal standards.
This comes as the People’s Bank of China said it will conduct the test of its digital currency and randomly disperse 50,000 “red packets” worth 200 yuan starting October 12.
In a public statement, the bank said the testing of the yuan digital currency will first be done in Shenzhen, in the Guangdong Province.
Winners will need to download an app in order to claim the money and the winnings can only be spent in one of the 3,300 shops in the city, as a way to encourage consumption.
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EU Digital Euro
The European Central Bank stated earlier that “a digital euro would complement cash, not replace it. Together they would offer people a greater choice and easier access to ways of paying.”
Bitcoin soared by more than 6% over the last week and is up by about 60% since the start of 2020.
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