In the digital era, popular trends spread like wildfire and the blockchain-enabled digital currency mania appears to be reaching critical mass. At some point in the near future, the People’s Republic of China (PBOC) will be launching a new “digital yuan”—basically an online version of its existing currency (i.e. the Chinese Yuan, Renminbi, or CNY). Unlike a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, the digital yuan is backed by the central bank of China, and will therefore be categorized as the first-ever “central bank digital currency” (CBDC). The new digital yuan is already being tested by about 100,000 citizens in China, ... (full story)