Not surprisingly, the digital Yuan will NOT be anonymous

Not surprisingly, the Digital Yuan will NOT be anonymous

Reported by CoinDesk, “The director of the People’s Bank of China’s (PBoC) Digital Currency Research Institute says designing its digital currency to be fully anonymous isn’t “feasible.”

Mu Changchun said the bank needs to balance privacy for users with “international consensus” on risk control, according to a report from STCN, a state-owned daily newspaper.

“The anonymity of the central bank’s digital currency is limited under the premise of controllable risks,” Mu said at the China Development Forum in Beijing on Saturday. “A completely anonymous central bank digital currency is not feasible” as it would would violate anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing and anti-tax evasion regulations, he said.

However, Mu argued the digital yuan would provide more privacy than commercial payments products like bank cards, WeChat or Alipay, which are tied more closely to the banking system.

The most anonymous digital yuan wallet would be linked to a cellphone number and allow users to make small payments. Those wishing to transact larger amounts would need to upgrade to one with more know-your-customer verification procedures, according to Mu.

China is leading major nations in the development and piloting of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), but the project has raised concerns around the amount of insight it would give authorities into users’ financial data and behavior.”