In Zhejiang province, China, a criminal gang exploited digital yuan accounts to illegally cash out over 200,000 yuan ($27,566) within four days.
The digital yuan, or e-CNY, is the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) central bank digital currency (CBDC), which has experienced substantial growth in usage.
Adoption has reached 260 million wallets across 25 cities, with applications in sectors such as transit, healthcare, and crude oil purchases.
The perpetrators, who had difficulty securing regular employment, conducted these transactions through local merchants.
They have since been arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to prison, along with receiving fines.
