McDonald's, Starbucks, Subway Part Of China's Central Digital Currency Pilot: Report

Three United States-based fast food and beverage chains are participating in a new pilot of China's centralized cryptocurrency, CNBC reported Friday.

What Happened

The latest pilot is being held in Xiong'an city in the Hebei province with a focus on retail and catering stores, CNBC noted based on an original report from China's state-backed Securities Times.

McDonald's Corporation MCD, Starbucks Corporation SBUX, and Subway are reportedly participating in the trial, along with 16 other companies.

China has been working on developing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project for nearly six years, but it seemed to have picked up pace since last year, as Facebook Inc. FB announced its Libra cryptocurrency project.

Platforms of technology giants Tencent Holdings Ltd. TCEHY and Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. BABA could reportedly serve as outlets for the currency.

An earlier report by Xinhua News Agency had suggested that further CBDC tests will be conducted in Shenzhen and Chengdu ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The People's Bank of China hasn't given any official date on the launch of the digital currency.

Price Action

McDonald's shares closed 2.4% lower at $182.04 on Thursday and traded another 0.6% lower in the after-hours session at $181.00.

Starbucks shares closed 3% lower at $75.15 on Thursday and traded 0.2% lower in the after-hours at $75.