It is rumored that the world's largest fast food restaurant chain, McDonald's is under pressure because it was forced to accept the central bank's digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan.
The launch of the digital yuan is expected to take place at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
McDonald’s has actually run digital yuan testing in Shanghai. However, China insisted that the premises accept payments in digital yuan for all its branches nationwide.
Several large United States (US) firms: Nike, the sponsor of the US Olympic team and Visa, the main sponsor of the Olympics are also facing similar pressure.
The reluctance of big brands to accept the digital yuan seems to close the opportunity for China to further expand its use of digital currency.
Perhaps even their reluctance is closely linked to concerns about the privacy of its users.
The proof is that the US from the beginning has been uncomfortable with the development of the digital yuan until some US senators issued a warning to national athletes to boycott China's digital currency for fear of the paralysis of the country's economic power.
The digital yuan or any country-specific CBDC is not the same as a cryptocurrency because this group of assets is controlled by the government. So, it is not surprising that there are opinions that say the digital yuan is a tool to increase China's surveillance.
Analysts predict the use of the digital yuan could reach a rate of 9% for China's domestic payments by 2025.
