Forbes Drops Bombshell Report About China’s Crypto
Yesterday, Forbes’s crypto editor, Michael del Castillo, came out with an extensive report on the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) soon-to-launch cryptocurrency. In it, it was stated that according to Paul Schulte, who worked as global head of financial strategy for China Construction Bank until 2012, seven institutions — massive names in the China corporate and political scene — will be the first to receive access to the digital asset.
Schulte purportedly singled out the world’s two largest banks — the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China, respectively — the Agricultural Bank of China; China Construction Bank; Alibaba and Tencent; and Union Pay, a banking consortium in the Asian nation. Another source speaking to Forbes echoed this, stating that those seven and an eight are likely to get access to the cryptocurrency, which he/she/they says is dubbed DC/EP.
What’s even more interesting is that someone told the Forbes journalist that the cryptocurrency may launch on November 11th, the date of the famous Chinese shopping event, Singles Day. Last year, Alibaba made some $30.8 billion in sales in that 24 hour period, breaking every single sales record in the book. The addition of a cryptocurrency, which is likely to only get rid of payment friction in the Chinese economy, may create even more of a buzz and have even more an impact.
“Not Reliable”, Says Chinese Media
According to an excerpt from Tencent News posted by prominent Chinese crypto investor Dovey Wan, the sources are “not reliable” and issued “totally baseless guesses”. With Tencent being one of the companies named by the sources, this may confirm that the November 11th launch date and the preliminary list of fast-tracked institutions to receive the crypto asset may not be entirely accurate.
Chinese media, for some context, is known to have ties with the government, giving credence to Tencent’s claims that the sources may not be entirely truthful.
Regardless of the exact specifics, one thing is for certain: the cryptocurrency from the Chinese government is on its way to market, despite the recent Forbes news and the Tencent rebuttal.
As we reported on an earlier date, an important official of the PBoC claimed that China is prepared to launch its sovereign crypto asset. Mu Changchun, Deputy Director in the Payment and Settlement Division at the PBoC, staved away from giving an exact date, however.
It is likely that China will try and launch its crypto before Libra makes it to market, as many politicians and technologists in the nation have actively made statements against the Facebook-backed project, which they claim is a way for the U.S. government to further establish economic control in the global economy.
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