As a deposit in the legal sense, Digital Yuan (e-CNY) in the new phase meets the formal requirements of “holding by account” and “payment with principal and interest”, as well as the substantive requirements of “monetary creation”, and therefore can be protected by the deposit reserve and deposit insurance system. As depositors, the users of Digital Yuan constitute a deposit legal relationship with commercial banks, and their basic property rights include the “settlement right” to request the transfer of Digital Yuan to the recipient, as well as the “redemption right” to exchange the same denomination for other monetary forms. This status of “deposit as legal tender” can not only maintain the unity of monetary power in the digital era, but also help clarify the positioning of Digital Yuan in the multi-level monetary system, and it is feasible in the compatibility of deposit insurance and the legal tender system. To further protect the legal status of Digital Yuan, firstly, the legal tender effect of Digital Yuan should be reconstructed on the premise of recognizing “access” restrictions, and the crisis relief order of priority for deposit insurance and supplementation by the legal tender system should be established; under the premise of satisfying the “access”, the legal tender effect of Digital Yuan is embodied in the effectiveness of administrative acceptance, civil repayment, and rescue in banking crises. Secondly, the legal means for the crisis relief of Digital Yuan operating institutions should be established. When the operating institutions face a repayment crisis, the law should stipulate that bank customers should be provided with rescue through deposit insurance first; if the deposit insurance cannot repay all the Digital Yuan of customers, bank customers may obtain the supplementary assistance through the legal tender system. Finally, the allocation of Digital Yuan regulatory responsibilities oriented to the prevention of moral hazard should be established. It includes the administrative supervision mechanism dominated by the central bank, the self-discipline management mechanism implemented by the operation management center, and the supervision obligations by commercial banks designated to participate in the operation of Digital Yuan.
/ Journals / Journal of Shanghai University of Finance and EconomicsJournal of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics
LiuYuanchun, Editor-in-Chief
ZhengChunrong, Vice Executive Editor-in-Chief
GuoChanglin YanJinqiang WangWenbin WuWenfang, Vice Editor-in-Chief
Deposit as Legal Tender: Re-establishment of the Legal Status of Digital Yuan
Journal of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Vol. 28, Issue 03, pp. 137 - 152 (2026) DOI:10.16538/j.cnki.jsufe.2026.03.010
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Ke Da. Deposit as Legal Tender: Re-establishment of the Legal Status of Digital Yuan[J]. Journal of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, 2026, 28(3): 137-152.
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