China is planning to create an East Asia cryptocurrency to compete with the US Dollar and Facebook’s Libra.
This move by the Chinese government is aimed at growing ties with the East Asia region while severing ties with the United States.
According to , a local media outlet, 10 members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) came up with a plan to combine Hong Kong dollars, South Korean won, and Japanese yen with Chinese yuan to create one giant cryptocurrency.
The audacious proposal cast the spotlight on the 10 members. Some of the influential members of the group included Neil Shen, VC investor and co-founder of Ctrip, China’s top travel agency. The group also includes Henry Tang, the former Chief Secretary to Hong Kong, a position regarded as the second most powerful in the region.
According to the proposal, yuan will take up 60% or the new crypto while yen will be 20%. The ratio is based on “the economic scale of the associated economies.”
With the US dominating the cryptocurrency industry, this proposal is China’s way of competing on a regional and global scale.
At the moment, the committee is yet to propose an official launch date.