Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is reportedly to help the nation’s central bank develop infrastructure for its cash-equivalent digital currency.
- Reported by local media on Monday, the People's Bank of China has reached a strategic cooperation agreement with JD.com to co-develop mobile and blockchain technology platforms for the digital yuan initiative.
- The two entities will work together to develop on- and offline functionality for the products, which will include a digital wallet.
- JD.com will further use its group to promote the new services, per the article.
- The news comes as the latest instance of the People's Bank working with commercial enterprises on the digital yuan project, more formally dubbed "digital currency electric payment" (DCEP).
- Six years in the making, DCEP is now reportedly being tested at state-owned banks, several companies backed by Tencent and "Chinese Uber" Didi.
- The digital currency is expected to act as cash in China, being used for retail payments via mobile apps.
- The central bank recently played down rumors of a property transaction settled with DCEP, saying that current testing has revolved around smaller transactions so far.
- The prime online retailer rival to Alibaba in China, JD.com is a NASDAQ-100 and a Fortune Global 500 company with revenue of close to $83 billion in 2019.
Also read: China Sees Advantages in Being First on New Digital Currency ‘Battlefield’
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