China’s central bank is poised to implement a sweeping action plan for the management of the digital yuan, introducing an upgraded digital currency framework that will take effect from January 1.
By the end of 2025, the digital yuan initiative has shifted decisively from its initial pilot stages to broad nationwide and international deployment. In a significant milestone, China carried out its first cross-border digital yuan transactions in Laos and expanded the mBridge platform—designed to create a multi-country digital payments bridge—to enable instant se
The digital yuan, or e-CNY, operates in a manner resembling existing mobile wallets, but it incorporates a set of distinctive characteristics. Unlike widely used private-sector applications like Alipay and WeChat Pay, the digital yuan holds the status of legal tender in China, obligating merchants to accept it. Transactions are generally free for both merchants and consumers, while the system also incorporates mechanisms for “controllable anonymity” in lower-value purchases.
Data released by the People’s Bank of China in October revealed that total payments made via the digital yuan almost doubled in the past 14 months, climbing to RMB 14.2 trillion ($2 trillion) as of September 2025 from RMB 7.3 trillion recorded in July 2024.
