Alibaba among first to receive Chinese government cryptocurrency

The People’s Bank of China is set to give its first round of central bank digital currency (CBDC) to Alibaba Group and seven others, including internet giant Tencent.

According to a report by Forbes, the other beneficiaries will be China Construction Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, Chinese banking association Union Pay and an unnamed organisation.

An anonymous source claimed that the technology was ready to ship, and that the ‘DC/EP’ (Digital Currency/Electronic Payments), as it has been dubbed, could roll-out as early as 11th November, China’s busiest shopping day, aka Singles Day.

The recipient institutions will then be responsible for dispersing the cryptocurrency to 1.3 billion Chinese citizens and others doing business in the renminbi, China’s fiat currency, according to the source. They added that the central bank hopes the currency will eventually be made available to consumers in the US and elsewhere through relationships with correspondent banks in the west.