https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3043134/chinas-new-digital-currency-isnt-bitcoin-and-not-speculation Published: 6:00pm, 22 Dec, 2019 There has been intense discussion of China’s digital currency since Facebook announced its plan for Libra. While **the central bank sees the need for a digital version of the yuan** in the internet era, it also sees any digital currency or payment services that are **out of its control** as a potential threat to the country’s financial security. Beijing has cracked down on trading of bitcoin and other digital tokens, and Facebook’s Libra is viewed as a potential challenge to its capital account control. .... Chinese internet users were unimpressed with the news there would be no speculating on the virtual currency. “So there will be no fun in it,” one person commented on news portal Sina.com. Another said: “**The digital currency is just another form of the yuan**, but cryptocurrencies that use real blockchain technology can be treated like gold and silver.”