TheTechno Optimist.

e-CNY (Digital Yuan)People's Bank of China—E-CNY reaches 3.48 billion transactions and 16.7 trillion yuan in cumulative volume; world's largest live CBDCmBridge (Multi-CBDC Cross-Border Payments)People's Bank of China—mBridge processes $55.5 billion in cross-border transactions; digital yuan dominates with 95% of volume; Macau fully joinse-CNY (Digital Yuan)People's Bank of China—E-CNY gains interest-bearing deposit status, reclassified as commercial bank liability

People's Bank of China

Digital yuan, CBDC, cross-border payments

CNgovernmentest. 1948pbc.gov.cn (opens pbc.gov.cn)Checked 11 Oct

The brief

Analyst view
  • E-CNY: 3.48B transactions, 16.7T yuan ($2.3T), 230M personal wallets, 18.84M institutional wallets.
  • From Jan 1 2026: e-CNY earns interest; reclassified from cash to bank liability to incentivize adoption.
  • mBridge: 4000+ transactions, $55.5B volume; digital yuan is ~95% of volume; Macau joined June 2026.

Technical approach

As reported
Distribution

Two-tier CBDC architecture

PBOC issues to commercial banks and payment providers, who distribute to consumers and businesses via apps and SMS.

Interest bearing

Interest-bearing accounts as of January 2026

Jan 1 2026: e-CNY converted from cash to interest-bearing deposits. Wallets now earn interest, comparable to savings accounts.

Cross-border settlement

mBridge for international transactions

PBOC leads mBridge, a multi-currency CBDC platform, tested with Hong Kong, Thailand, and UAE.

Primer