While the US is exploring the feasibility of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), China is working at a visible rate to make it possible. According to a report by Financial Times, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has filed 84 patents related to digital payments. China’s central bank digital currency As per the report, the patents are related to the bank’s plans for launching a digital currency electronic payments (DCEP) system. The number of patents filed by the PBOC was revealed after an investigative study by the US Chamber of Digital Commerce. These patents focus on designing protocols that would