ICBC President Liu Jun on digital currency: Technology can only reinforce trust, not replace it

On October 21, citing Caixin, Liu Jun, President of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), said, "While digital technology drives the rapid development of the digital economy, it also brings about a transformation in the monetary trust mechanism: data, algorithms and programmability are beginning to participate in the generation and transmission of credit, and trust is shifting from being supported by institutions alone to being jointly supported by institutions and technology. But technology can only reinforce trust, not replace it." From stablecoins and crypto assets to central bank digital currencies, the development of digital currencies worldwide is undoubtedly very active.

Liu Jun said that money is transforming from tangible physical objects into invisible data, and from multi-step clearing that relies on accounts and intermediaries toward the simultaneous completion of payment and settlement. The reason digital currency becomes money lies not in the algorithm design itself, but in how credit is supported and honored, how responsibility is implemented, and how rights, responsibilities, benefits and effectiveness are aligned. If algorithms or pegged assets lack transparent regulation, or if trust is built solely on an impenetrable technological "black box," then the credit system of virtual currencies can hardly be established, and their value foundation will inevitably be fragile.