China’s central bank has denied claims that it will launch its own cryptocurrency in November according to an official statement seen by local news provider Global Times.
The People’s Bank of China said that reports dating around the end of August suggesting a November launch for the central bank issued digital currency (CBDC) were “inaccurate speculations”. The statement added that it would update on progress of the CBDC on its website “in due time”.
The statement from the PBoC echoed an earlier report in late August – again by the Communist Party-supporting Global Times – that featured a Twitter-published, but unofficial, denial. Why it has taken the central bank nearly four weeks to make the announcement official was unknown.
Initial Report
Initial reports of the CBDC launch in Forbes, which cited an anonymous source, suggested the technology underpinning the currency had been ready since last year and that it could launch as soon as November 11, when it would be delivered to a number of banks and payment companies for further dispersal to the country’s population.
The central bank statement, issued on Sunday emphasised the differences between its intended digital offering and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, saying it would issue a “legal digital currency” financially backed by the government.
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