Forbes
China, the country that banned initial coin offerings and made it tough for Bitcoin to operate has been tossing around the idea to build its own digital currency, and some U.S. multinationals are reportedly willing to help roll it out.
Starbucks, McDonald’s and Subway chains in China were named on the People’s Bank of China’s list of firms that will test the national digital currency in the near future.
This particular currency, once referred to as a digital yuan, will also be given a test at Chinese hotels, convenience stores, a bakery, a bookstore and a gym in the Xiong’an New Area, a city being built south of Beijing.
No date for the release has been set.
China has been talking about this for at least a year now and it is unclear how those three U.S. brands were chosen, but it was a local decision to include those local franchises.