Yao Qian, once head of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Digital Currency Research Institute, appeared this week in a PBOC-run outlet with a synopsis of his 2021 book, Blockchain-Based Financial Market Infrastructure: Theory, Practice and Regulation.
The article is largely a conceptual discussion of securities infrastructure and decentralized business processing, and it makes no reference to China’s Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN). Notably, however, it briefly revisits Yao’s earlier research on blockchain-based digital yuan (e-CNY) solutions, more as an aside than a policy proposal.
That raises a question. Is the republication of material drawn from a 2021 book, by a former PBOC digital currency official now serving as director of the China Securities Regulatory Commission Science and Technology Supervision Bureau, purely coincidental? Or does it reflect renewed internal interest in blockchain architectures for the digital yuan as e-CNY trials continue to expand?
I’ll note that blockchain is designated by the National Development and Reform Commission as a Tier Three category of New Type Infrastructure.
Yao’s article appears in Financial Computerization (金融电子化), a long-running PBOC magazine and online outlet. While no policy signal should be inferred from this alone, such venues are often used to quietly reintroduce ideas before broader discussion.
For now, this is best read as an early indicator, not a direction of travel, but one worth watching.