The People's Bank of China (PBOC) - or the country's central bank, declares that its digital currency can be used during the 2022 Winter Olympics.

China Central Television (CCTV) reported Sunday, citing a "relevant person in charge" of the PBOC Digital Currency Research Institute. The 2022 Olympic event is scheduled to take place in Beijing.

Based on the time of the 2022 Olympics, the launch schedule of the digital currency is likely in mid-2021. The Central Bank of China has not yet announced an official time for deploying my CBDC.

CCTV sources also confirmed that a number of state banks are conducting internal tests on digital currencies in four cities - Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong’an New Area, and Chengdu.

Just last week, the Agricultural Bank of China and the Bank of China appeared to have released experimental mobile applications - supporting the digital currency of PBOC.

CCTV sources further confirmed that the digital yuan research and development process is progressing well. They also said internal tests would not affect the commercial operations of banks, the RMB issuance and circulation system and the financial market.

Also, last week, it was reported that Suzhou city government employees would receive a 50% travel allowance in May in digital yuan. Another report from China Daily today said that digital currencies will be based on blockchain and the traditional centralized structure of the monetary mechanism.