China’s central bank recruiting cryptography experts to help develop its own digital money – SCMP
What happened: The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has begun hiring cryptography experts as it eyes developing a digital currency. The bank’s Digital Currency Research Institute started advertising jobs on Wednesday as part of its annual hiring push for 2019. The postings included positions for those who specialized in computer science, cryptography, or microelectronics. The advertised positions will focus on the research and development of software, chips, and encryption for digital fiat currency.
Why it’s important: China banned cryptocurrency exchanges and initial coin offerings (ICOs) in 2017, but it has been working on a homegrown digital currency for the past four years. However, this is the first time it has advertised jobs for cryptographers. The PBoC hopes the currency will make transactions cheaper and easier to trace. The central bank has yet to give a timeline for its development, but its former chief has pointed out that the transition and its usage should ensure financial stability and customer protection.