Starting January 1st, interest will begin accruing on the balance of digital yuan wallets. It is understood that its smart contracts differ from the "on-chain" smart contracts built on the blockchain, which are famous for Ethereum. Senior digital yuan experts point out that the digital yuan is not built on a blockchain, but rather on a newly designed account system. The central bank and commercial banks jointly maintain a "same ledger." By loading "smart contracts that do not affect the function of currency," the digital yuan achieves programmability, supporting functions such as targeted payments and automatic execution. Furthermore, Caixin also disclosed that currently only digital yuan wallets with real-name authentication can accrue interest; that is, wallets of types one, two, and three accrue interest, while wallets of type four (unverified) do not accrue interest (the ownership of type four wallets cannot be confirmed). After January 1st, mobile banking services of participating banks and payment platforms such as WeChat and Alipay will gradually gain permission to open digital yuan wallets. (Caixin.com)
