The Shenzhen Chamber of Commerce has recorded over 2.6 million signups for its latest digital yuan, airdrop. Two months prior, the City of Shenzhen announced that it would be airdropping 30 million of the e-CNY central bank digital currency to local residents to stimulate consumer spending as a recovery measure to the country’s strict coronavirus lockdown.
Users who received the airdrops through a randomized lottery selection could then spend the digital yuan vouchers at various participating merchants’ terminals on Meituan, one of China’s leading e-commerce platforms.
Similarly the City of Fuzhou announced that it would be airdropping 20 million digital yuan to local residents. Users who passed through KYC identification and have a local number could then log in to the e-Fuzhou city app and enter a lottery draw for 100 e-CNY per airdrop.
China’s CBDC efforts have gained momentum since the beginning of the year, with the country’s central bank planning to expand the number of digital yuan test sites to 23, up from 11. In the City of Tianjin, it is now possible to take out a loan denominated in e-CNY as well as pay for metro tickets using digital currency.
