China's introduction of its digital Yuan at the Winter Olympics in Beijing has sparked a variety of reactions on social media.
The introduction of the e-CNY comes less than a year after Chinese officials renewed a crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry, with authorities in China's Sichuan province, once one of the country's biggest mining centers, ordering crypto miners to shut down operations.
Several posters on Twitter reacted to a letter U.S. Senator Pat Toomey sent to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing concern about the e-CNY’s "potential to subvert U.S. sanctions, facilitate illicit money flows, enhance China’s surveillance capabilities."
He described the digital Yuan as a momentous development as it marked "the rollout of the world’s first major Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to a foreign audience."
"While the United States is still evaluating the concept of a digital dollar, China is using the Beijing Winter Olympics as an international test for the digital yuan (eCNY), which has been piloted domestically since 2019," Toomey wrote.
"Dear Senators," one person said. "If you're mad about China's digital yuan at the Olympics, why don't you support the free and open crypto industry in your own country? At least China's building something. All you do is talk."
"I'm sure they will create another useless committee to investigate," was one response.
Another person said "China isn't building something, it's controlling something. This is why you can't buy crypto in China."
Over on Reddit, one poster addressed the issue of privacy and the digital Yuan.
"You get text from the communist party later questioning your purchases. “Why da f--k you buy this?!” the person said.
Another person on Twitter wondered about the future when other governments create their own digital currency.
"What happens to Bitcoin when the US, UK or EU adopts their own digital currency?" he asked
One poster tweeted that the digital Yuan may become the "legal money of China."
"Which give you the power to call the police if the merchant refuses to accept the digital payment," the poster said. "As for the infrastructure, it should be similar to the popular WeChat payment portal."
Meanwhile, others couldn't resist getting some humor out of the situation.
"No yuan want this," a poster on Reddit said.
"You get -30 social points for that pun, sir!" one person responded.
