Hong Kong residents have shown little interest in the Chinese government’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) project despite a 20% discount on purchases offered to those who use e-CNY hard wallets. The hard wallets, which allow residents to access the “digital yuan,” were made available to Hong Kong citizens through machines installed in Shenzhen.
The machines were exclusively programmed to serve Hong Kong residents due to the city’s unique location as a gateway to mainland China. The initiative, launched by the Bank of China and smart card provider Octopus Card, aimed to issue 50,000 hard wallets by March 31, but only 625 wallets were requested in the first four days.
Now, you’d think they’d get the point and accept that the people in Hong Kong don’t want what they’re pushing, but no.. of course they’re going to continue to promote it. They’re also promoting a SIM card hard wallet that would combine financial and communicational functions. This effort is part of a broader political mission to integrate Hong Kong into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The Bank of China has made significant efforts to encourage adoption of the e-CNY, but the adoption rate remains slow. Cumulative e-CNY transactions only surpassed 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) in October 2022, two years after the CBDC’s introduction to the market. In February 2023, multiple cities reportedly gave away over 180 million yuan ($26.5 million) worth of the CBDC in programs such as subsidies and consumption coupons to boost adoption.
I’m personally glad to see that most people in Hong Kong aren’t taking the bait. Hopefully people look to decentralized alternatives like Bitcoin over the coming years as the push for CBDC’s gets more aggressive.
