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China’s former CBDC chief is under government investigation

China investigating Yao Qian, the former head of the Digital Yuan project. Local media reports say Yao is under probe for “violations of discipline and law.” Yao Qian, a leading Chinese blockchain expert who previously spearheaded China’s Digital Yuan program, is reportedly under government investigation. The Digital Yuan is a central bank digital currency (CBDC)…

China investigating Yao Qian, the former head of the Digital Yuan project.
Local media reports say Yao is under probe for “violations of discipline and law.”

Yao Qian, a leading Chinese blockchain expert who previously spearheaded China’s Digital Yuan program, is reportedly under government investigation.

The Digital Yuan is a central bank digital currency (CBDC) project that sparked other countries towards similar efforts.

Local media reports say China’s anti-graft agency is probing Yao for alleged “violations of discipline and law.”

Ex-Digital Yuan boss under probe

Yao led the Chinese central bank’s CBDC effort before exiting the PBOC in 2018 to join the Securities Regulatory Commission.

On Friday, state-run news agency Shanghai Securities News, reported:

“Yao Qian, Director of the Science and Technology Supervision Department and Director of the Information Center of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is currently under investigation by the Central Committee.”

The report did not provide details of the investigation.

China’s probe against the SRC official comes a few weeks after Yao’s recent opinion piece in a local financial news outlet, The Block noted.

His article was titled “Warnings Mount Over Novel Bitcoin ETFs That Have Taken the US by Storm”. The publication went live on Chinese financial media outlet Caixin.

The ex-CBDC chief published a book covering multiple crypto topics, including the decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO), decentralised finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and X-to-earn.

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USAID will change its name to the US Agency for International Humanitarian Assistance (IHA) By using blockchain technology, it will “radically increase security, transparency, and traceability” The revamp comes after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cut USAID numbers from 10,000 to just under 300 in early February The Trump administration reportedly wants its…

Mavryk Dynamics raises $5M to build its RWA L1 blockchain network

USAID will change its name to the US Agency for International Humanitarian Assistance (IHA)
By using blockchain technology, it will “radically increase security, transparency, and traceability”
The revamp comes after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cut USAID numbers from 10,000 to just under 300 in early February

The Trump administration reportedly wants its United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to “leverage blockchain technology” as it works on renaming the organization.

According to a report from WIRED, a government memo has been circulating among State Department officials detailing plans for USAID. In the 13-page document – first reported on by Politico – it states that as part of the revamp, USAID will change its name to US Agency for International Humanitarian Assistance (IHA).

The memo also suggests “leveraging blockchain technology” which will “radically increase security, transparency, and traceability.”

It adds: “This approach would encourage innovation and efficiency among implementing partners and allow for more flexible and responsive programming focused on tangible impact rather than simply completing activities and inputs.”

USAID staffers on leave

Since US President Donald Trump re-entered the White House, significant changes have been made to organizations in the US. One of which is USAID.

In early February, USAID staff were put on administrative leave “with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions,” according to a government notice.

Following the implementation of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), staff numbers at USAID have been cut from 10,000 to just under 300.

In a post on X in February, Musk wrote: “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.”

USAID is a criminal organization.

Time for it to die. https://t.co/sWYy6fyt1k

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 2, 2025

Blockchain in humanitarian efforts

The use of blockchain in humanitarian efforts has been used before with many seeing the potential is can bring. In 2020, UNICEF invested around 135 Ethereum – about $30,000 at the time – into eight companies from seven developing countries to assist in developing prototypes and to scale their projects.

Financial services company AID:Tech turned to the payment rails of stablecoin issuer Circle to provide fraud-resistant disaster relief delivery in USDC in 2021. By doing so, they wanted to reduce inequality and increase opportunities by bringing accountability and transparency to the distribution of federal relief.

Realizing the benefits of blockchain technology, AID:Tech was the first company to use the technology to deliver international aid in 2015.