Shenzhen, China, has officially launched a new cross-border digital Yuan pilot in collaboration with Hong Kong. Recently, Little Red Book also added NFTs on Conflux Network to enable users to showcase their minted NFTs through the platform. According to China Banking and Insurance News, this is the result of a joint effort between PBoC and the Luohu District local government, as Luohu is close to the New Territories of Hong Kong. The PBoC and Luohu are promoting the event by giving away tokens. During this time, nearly $1.5 million in tokens will be distributed in Luohu. Transaction sizes are capped at 999 Yuan each. Token holders shall also reportedly be able to spend their digital Yuan holdings across multiple industries, with various restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, jewelry, and home appliances being reportedly among these. In the past, the PBoC stated that the digital Yuan is not meant to be used in international trade. However, this narrative appears to have shifted in recent months, with the PBoC promoting the aforementioned cross-border payment capabilities. If the Hong Kong and Macau pilots are successful, the PBoC may look to expand upon the potential use cases. Elsewhere, the digital Yuan appears to be gaining popularity in Russia as well. Moscow may seek to utilize the token in trade with Beijing, especially if it is able to develop interoperability solutions for its own upcoming digital Ruble.
