Eight years after China began creating its digital currency, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is poised to become a global crypto hub. The digital yuan, or e-CNY, is a fiat currency in virtual form issued by the central bank, the People's Bank of China. A fiat currency is a national currency whose value is derived from a country's promise to back it, not from physical commodities such as gold or silver. As a forerunner in the global race to test a digital currency, e-CNY research started in China in 2014. A pilot program was launched in 2019 with the digital currency put into trial use at bricks-and-mortar ... (full story)