IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/124989.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Divergent paths in digital currency development: a comparative study of China and the United States with a global perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Xie, Danyang

Abstract

The United States and China exhibit markedly different development paths in digital assets and blockchain technology. The US relies on market-driven approaches, with the private sector promoting stablecoin innovation to strengthen the dollar’s global position, while China adopts a government-led approach, implementing centralized systems such as consortium chains and the digital yuan (e-CNY), emphasizing financial security and regulation. These divergent paths reflect fundamental institutional differences: American distrust of centralized institutions has fostered distributed ledger development, while China mitigates risks through government leadership. Currently, the digital yuan faces adoption challenges due to insufficient enthusiasm from commercial banks. We propose implementing a “dynamic reserve mechanism” to incentivize circulation and enhance privacy protection to address user concerns. The private sector should participate more actively in innovation, and we recommend establishing AI-supported “dynamic regulatory sandboxes” or “smart regulatory gateways” based on smart contracts to better balance innovation and regulatory needs. To address inflation and depegging risks of stablecoins, we recommend moving beyond fiat currency pegging to explore new models anchored to consumer goods, such as a “BigMac Coin.”

Suggested Citation

  • Xie, Danyang, 2025. "Divergent paths in digital currency development: a comparative study of China and the United States with a global perspective," MPRA Paper 124989, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:124989
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/124989/1/MPRA_paper_124989.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathan Chiu & Seyed Mohammadreza Davoodalhosseini & Janet Jiang & Yu Zhu, 2023. "Bank Market Power and Central Bank Digital Currency: Theory and Quantitative Assessment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 131(5), pages 1213-1248.
    2. Allen, Franklin & Gu, Xian & Jagtiani, Julapa, 2022. "Fintech, Cryptocurrencies, and CBDC: Financial Structural Transformation in China," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    3. Ferrari Minesso, Massimo & Mehl, Arnaud & Stracca, Livio, 2022. "Central bank digital currency in an open economy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 54-68.
    4. Lorenzo Burlon & Manuel A. Muñoz & Frank Smets, 2024. "The Optimal Quantity of CBDC in a Bank-Based Economy," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 172-217, October.
    5. Barrdear, John & Kumhof, Michael, 2022. "The macroeconomics of central bank digital currencies," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Peng, Wei & Xin, Baogui & Tan, Hui & Kwon, Jiwon, 2025. "The co-effects of technology innovation and digital infrastructure on central bank digital currency: A DSGE analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. Dionysopoulos, Lambis & Marra, Miriam & Urquhart, Andrew, 2024. "Central bank digital currencies: A critical review," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Xiang, Lijin & Feng, Chao & Xiao, Zumian & Liu, Jianjian, 2024. "The impact of central bank digital currency on macroeconomic dynamics: A DSGE analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    4. Abad, Jorge & Nuño, Galo & Thomas, Carlos, 2025. "CBDC and the operational framework of monetary policy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    5. Huseyin Oguz Genc & Soichiro Takagi, 2024. "A literature review on the design and implementation of central bank digital currencies," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 197-225, February.
    6. Hoang, Yen Hai & Ngo, Vu Minh & Bich Vu, Ngoc, 2023. "Central bank digital currency: A systematic literature review using text mining approach," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    7. Stylianos Asimakopoulos & Marco Lorusso & Francesco Ravazzolo, 2023. "A Bayesian DSGE Approach to Modelling Cryptocurrency"," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 51, pages 1012-1035, December.
    8. Moro, Alessandro & Nispi Landi, Valerio, 2024. "The external financial spillovers of CBDCs," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    9. Helmi, Mohamad Husam & Çatık, Abdurrahman Nazif & Akdeniz, Coşkun, 2023. "The impact of central bank digital currency news on the stock and cryptocurrency markets: Evidence from the TVP-VAR model," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    10. Mishra, Bineet & Prasad, Eswar, 2024. "A simple model of a central bank digital currency," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    11. Azzone, Michele & Barucci, Emilio, 2023. "Evaluation of sight deposits and central bank digital currency," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    12. Stroukal, Dominik & Peterka, Pavel, 2025. "Tokenization as a pathway to anonymity in central bank digital currencies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    13. Schilling, Linda & Fernández-Villaverde, Jesús & Uhlig, Harald, 2024. "Central bank digital currency: When price and bank stability collide," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    14. Dirk Niepelt, 2024. "Money and Banking with Reserves and CBDC," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 79(4), pages 2505-2552, August.
    15. Xin, Baogui & Jiang, Kai & Santibanez Gonzalez, Ernesto D.R., 2024. "The coevolution effect of central bank digital currency and green bonds on the net-zero economy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    16. Assenmacher, Katrin & Ferrari Minesso, Massimo & Mehl, Arnaud & Pagliari, Maria Sole, 2024. "Managing the transition to central bank digital currency," Working Paper Series 2907, European Central Bank.
    17. Assenmacher, Katrin & Bitter, Lea & Ristiniemi, Annukka, 2023. "CBDC and business cycle dynamics in a New Monetarist New Keynesian model," Working Paper Series 2811, European Central Bank.
    18. Magin, Jana & Neyer, Ulrike & Stempel, Daniel, 2023. "The Macroeconomic Effects of Different CBDC Regimes in an Economy with a Heterogeneous Household Sector," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277656, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    19. Lorenzo Burlon & Manuel A. Muñoz & Frank Smets, 2024. "The Optimal Quantity of CBDC in a Bank-Based Economy," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 172-217, October.
    20. Lü, Zheng & Ozcelebi, Oguzhan & Yoon, Seong-Min, 2025. "Impact of central bank digital currency uncertainty on international financial markets," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • F33 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:124989. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.