The People’s Bank of China included the country's digital currency in calculations of the amount of currency in circulation in December, a first for one of the early adopters of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and the world's second-largest economy, according to data released by its central bank on Tuesday.

According to a report published by state-owned daily news program Xinwen Lianbo on Dec. 29, Xiao Yi, former Communist Party Secretary of the City of Fuzhou, pleaded guilty to corruption charges in the Zhejiang Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court. During his tenure as director from 2008 to 2021, Yi was accused of accepting over 125 million CNY ($18 million) in bribes related to construction programs and illicit promotions.

Demand for new ways of value storage is often connected to economic happenings and times of crisis. In recent years, many people have been turning to cryptocurrency to counter hyperinflation and thus, loss of currency value. Nevertheless, global players with strong economies are still often seen at the forefront of cryptocurrency adoption.

China’s wallet app for its digital yuan central bank digital currency (CBDC) introduced a feature for users to send money in an electronic version of traditional “red packets” to try to attract new users.

Zhejiang, a coastal province of China, has presented a metaverse development plan that seeks to build a metaverse hub in its territory. The plan aims to entice the creation of a $28.7 billion metaverse industry and construct an ecosystem of several companies integrating this tech as part of its operations by 2025.(By Sergio Goschenko)

A court in the Chinese city of Hangzhou has determined that non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, represent virtual property protected by the laws in the People’s Republic. The ruling comes from a case over a dispute between a customer and a platform hired to sell a collection of tokens.

China’s Hangzhou Court <a href="https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/WWnZAxqiIVJ-dHO90eoBVw">claimed</a> that NFTs carry characteristics of property rights like value, scarcity, disposability, and readability, and therefore should be protected by the law.