The rise of the digital yuan, China’s national central bank digital currency (CBDC), helped some crypto-related stocks surge while the cryptocurrency market has been facing notable drops.
On April 23, Changshu City in Jiangsu Province announced that it would start utilizing the digital yuan, also known as e-CNY, to pay the public workers. According to a crypto.news report, the payments will affect the city’s government officials, staff members of businesses owned by the state, healthcare employees, and other public servants.
Consequently, some of the top crypto-related stocks in China have witnessed a notable incline. The Global Infotech Co shares have risen by 13%, currently at 12.80 CNY. According to a Reuters report, shares in Chutian Dragon Co rose by roughly 8% and are trading at 20.2 CNY at the time of writing.
On the other hand, Shanghai Stock Exchange’s flagship index, CSI 300, dropped by 0.4%, per Reuters.
The senior financial analyst at BoTong Analysys, Wang Pengbo, told Reuters that paying salaries in digital yuan is a good way to promote the asset.
A doctor working in a Suzhou hospital, who just told her last name, Yang, said that she doesn’t know how to use the e-CNY. Yang added that she needs to convert the digital yuan to fiat since “no merchant around” her “receives digital yuan.”