The eToro analyst believes that the digital yuan, which the People’s Bank of China plans to issue, is unlikely to affect the cryptocurrency market in the long term. The project launch is expected in the fall of 2020.

The emergence of China’s digital national currency (DCEP) is unlikely to affect the crypto assets market in the long term, because the issuance of the digital renminbi will be strictly controlled, centralized and does not imply public mining or the possibility of exchanging the digital renminbi for other cryptocurrencies, explains eToro analyst Nemo Qin.

“Unlike most crypto assets, the DCEP will be a centralized, government-issued digital currency … [W]ith these factors, the DCEP should not have a direct impact on the crypto asset market,” Qin said.

In November 2019,  Edith Chun, blockchain investor, partner of the Proof of Capital venture capital fund, suggested in an interview with CNBC that China will launch its own digital currency within a year. Thus, the digital renminbi may appear this year no later than this autumn.

To date, the People's Bank of China registered 84 patent applications for decisions related to the digital currency. Descriptions of those solutions reveal the details of the planned digital currency.

The 84 patents filed on 13 February include proposals related to interbank settlements using the digital yuan and the integration of digital currency wallets into existing retail bank accounts, according to a report by the Financial Times.