Pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis is calling on the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to ban athletes visiting China from using the digital yuan during the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Senator Cynthia lummis, known in the crypto industry as an advocate of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, , sent a letter to the president of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Susanne Lyons, expressing concern over China's plans to officially launch its central bank digital currency (CBDC), known as DCEP or digital yuan, during the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Lummis described this digital currency as a tool of the Chinese government, which is fully controlled by its central bank (PboC), to enforce oversight of transactions that occur within the country's financial system. Therefore, Lummis urges the Committee to prohibit American athletes from receiving or using the Chinese digital currency.
“Specifically, we urge the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) to prohibit American athletes from receiving or using digital yuan during the Beijing Olympic Games.”
The Asian nation has been developing its CBDC digital currency for about 7 years, but it is only now, less than a year away from launch, that it reveals key features of its operation, such as that its transactions will be fully controlled by the PboC and that they can be tracked and located by the same entity, Lummis cited.
The letter to Lyons was also signed by Senators Marsha Blackburn and Roger Wicker.
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China, the digital yuan and privacy
The pro-crypto senator said fears of China's surveillance of financial transactions are not unfounded. The country wants to monitor its citizens and foreigners visiting the nation during the Olympics on an unprecedented scale, so the use of the digital yuan and its integration into the economy will have many implications for users' privacy.
Lummis said American athletes should be aware of China's true goals in launching the digital currency and avoid using it.
Surveillance and privacy
According to the letter, the Chinese Communist Party uses new technologies to collect data and information from citizens, and then uses this information to “surveil, threaten and detain citizens,” violating their rights to freedom of expression. The letter cites as an example WeChat, a multipurpose Chinese app that offers messaging, calling and social networking services, as well as an online payment system, among other things.
It is worth recalling that the United States banned the use of WeChat and TikTok in September last year, citing national security concerns. At the time, former President Donald Trump said that China was monitoring American citizens through these apps, so they should be shut down in the country. However, the country's new administration, led by current President Joe Biden, indicated that the download and use of these apps will not be banned in the country; however, the United States must monitor the management of data of American users who use these apps and ensure that this data is not sent to the Chinese government to avoid security and privacy risks.
Regarding the digital yuan, Lummis requested a briefing with the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation next month.
Boosting and spreading the digital yuan
In recent months, China has been massively boosting the use of its digital currency. The central bank has held several lotteries in the country's largest and most populous cities to hand out free digital yuan, which citizens can use to purchase goods and products at authorized retailers.
According to the PboC's latest report, 34.500 billion yuan, or nearly $5.000 billion, had been processed through the digital yuan by June. The bank also reported that there were more than 21 million personal wallets and nearly 3,5 million corporate digital wallets using the DCEP.
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