China authorities have reportedly launched an investigation into local pro-blockchain official Yao Qian on suspicion of legal violations.
According to an April 26 report by the Shanghai Securities News, Yao is currently under investigation by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on suspicion of “serious violations” of discipline and law. The specific reasons for the investigation are not disclosed.
Currently serving at the China Securities Regulatory Commission as director of the Science and Technology Supervision Bureau, Yao is a significant figure in the Chinese blockchain community.
He is sometimes referred to as China’s “Crypto Dad” and is the first director of China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) research department at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), where he served from 2017 to 2018.
After quitting active CBDC development at the PBoC, Yao still remained engaged in digital currency research and discussions.
In May 2021, the former PBoC head of CBDC research predicted that state-run digital currencies were set to become more “smart” and could one day operate on blockchain networks like the Ethereum blockchain.
Mainland China’s CBDC, the digital yuan, was piloted in late 2019, becoming one of the world’s first jurisdictions to complete real-world CBDC tests.
Soon after launching domestic digital yuan testing, PBoC started cross-border CBDC pilots in collaboration with central banks in Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates in 2021.
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PBoC’s digital yuan launch came in line with China’s “blockchain, not crypto” approach, as China’s President Xi Jinping called for aggressive blockchain adoption in October 2019.
By contrast, the Chinese government has taken a hostile stance on crypto, banning all crypto transactions in 2021.
While mainland China rejected cryptocurrency development, China’s special administrative region, Hong Kong, has been actively moving into crypto over the past few years.
On April 24, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission approved the first batch of spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETF). With approval, Hong Kong is set to beat the United States in the launch of spot Ether ETFs as the trading launch in Hong Kong is scheduled for April 30.
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