China to test offline wallet for the digital yuan

A unit of the Agricultural Bank of China in the ‘megacity of the future’ Xiong’an in Hebei province has developed a hardware wallet for the digital yuan (DCEP). City authorities timed the start of its testing for the upcoming Lunar New Year (February 12), according to Cointelegraph.

The device supports offline payments without internet access and without the need to interact with a mobile phone. Through the wallet, its owners will be able to send New Year gifts.

Xiong’an has become one of four cities, alongside Shenzhen, Suzhou and Chengdu, where DCEP testing has been under way since April 2020.

In October, technology giant Huawei unveiled the Mate 40 with an integrated hardware wallet for the national digital currency, which supports offline transactions.

On February 7, Beijing authorities announced о присоединении к программе testing the digital yuan. Through a lottery they will distribute the equivalent of $1.5 million among 50,000 residents of the capital. As in previous experiments, the winners will be able to spend the funds online and in some stores in the city.

Earlier, Shenzhen authorities conducted the DCEP tests three times. A similar experiment планируется for March in Chengdu.

On February 10, Suzhou authorities will announce the lottery results for the distribution of digital yuan. The total amount of issued DCEP will reach 110 million (~$17 million).

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