Chinese ‘Crypto Pope’ Faces Government Investigation

Yao Qian, the former first director of CBDC development at the People’s Bank of China, is under government investigation, according to local media. 

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China suspects the official of “serious violations” of discipline and law, though specific reasons for the investigation remain undisclosed.

Yao currently serves as the director of the Science and Technology Supervision Bureau at the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

He is a significant figure in the Chinese blockchain community. From 2017 to 2018, he was the first head of the digital currency research department at the local central bank, earning the nickname “crypto pope.”

After ceasing active CBDC development, Yao continued to explore the field. In 2021, he predicted that national digital currencies could one day operate on the Ethereum blockchain.

In 2022, his book on Web3 was published.

On April 8, 2024, Yao published an article on Bitcoin ETFs and cryptocurrency regulation in the United States. 

Since 2017, Yao Qian has referred to CBDCs as the “jewel of fintech” and urged for their accelerated launch. 

China has been testing the digital yuan since late 2019. In July 2023, one of the largest state banks, the Bank of China, began trials of e-CNY payments via SIM card integration.