Yao Qian, Former Head of China’s Digital Yuan Effort Reportedly Facing Government Probe
Yao Qian is reportedly on the hot seat after the government launched investigations against him for allegedly violating the law. Yao Qian is the man behind China’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) initiative.
The Chinese CBDC project made headlines in the crypto industry. The Chinese Yuan CBDC research project was led by Yao Qian and backed by the People’s Bank of China. Yao Qian later moved to China’s Securities Regulatory Commission after his role at the Central Bank in 2018.
Although the Shanghai Securities News report did not give much detail about the allegations, it mentioned that Qian is suspected to have committed gross violations of discipline and law.
Qian, the current Director of the Science and Technology Supervision Department and Director of the Information Center of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has not yet responded to this matter.
The disciplinary review is currently underway by the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Team of the State Commission for Discipline Inspection at the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The Supervisory Committee of Shanwei City will oversee the supervision and investigations.
How Yao Qian impacted CBDC growth
Yao Qian, sometimes referred to as the Chinese “crypto dad’ has always been involved in research for the Chinese digital currency. He firmly believed in state-owned digital currencies, stating that it could be possible for such currencies to operate on the Ethereum mainnet in the future.
The Chinese digital currency started pilot testing back in 2019 and has since undergone several improvements. The project was kickstarted with major participants, including the four major banks owned by the People’s Republic of China’s government, the top three telecom firms, and Huawei.
The digital currency was known as DCEP, short for Digital Currency Electronic Payment. Later, in 2021, a pilot program to test the CBDC with cross-border payments was initiated by PBoC in partnership with Thailand, HK, and the UAE.
Yao Qian has been involved in different capacities along the way, and through his expressed belief in state-owned digital currencies, the CBDC movement spread across several central banks across the world.
Sourced From Shanghai Securities News
