Chinese Governor confirms "Digital Yuan" has no timeline, but might feature at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

China's aggressively pushing for blockchain development and digital currencies, with local sources stating the ongoing coronavirus pandemic may lead to an early release of the country's ambitious digital currency project.

While a central bank official says there's no particular timeline, the currency could be seen at a major global sports event, if ongoing tests prove its potential.

Yi Gang, the governor of the People's Bank of China, spoke about the ongoing and extensive development of the "Digital yuan," a so-called colloquial term for China's upcoming digital currency.

Yi Gang, governor of the #PBOC says China's #centralbank currently doesn't have a timeline for the launch of #DCEP, and the current pilot experiments in various cities are just the necessary routine work in the development of a digital yuan.

He confirmed the digital currency is being tested in "Various scenarios" for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, but no guarantee of a rollout exists yet.

Gang stated extensive R&D will help position the digital currency as an alternative to the existing fiat systems.

A local blockchain industry observer told Global Times China the state may rollout the digital yuan earlier-than-thought, especially as countries around the world seek economic growth after suffering a slowdown.

Cao Yin, who's based in Beijing, told reporters he expects China to introduce the digital currency sooner as U.S.-China tensions add to the possibility of an economic block by Western countries.

Yin notes the trackability and verifiability provided by a blockchain-based currency help tracing stimulus money, helping firms in need, and ensuring "Real money" flows into the Chinese economy.

The PBoC has tested digital currencies since 2014, at a very basic level earlier and amping up efforts in recent times.