China’s largest telecommunications company, China Mobile, has disclosed a patent on a virtual currency management system that can prevent the theft of hot-wallet keys.

Fast facts

  • The system achieves theft-prevention by separating the hot-wallet server interacting directly with a public data server via a system wallet server.
  • The patent disclosure shows that China Mobile filed the patent application as early as December 30, 2019.
  • In April, China Mobile and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China jointly unveiled an e-CNY hardware wallet, a SIM card with near-field communication functionality. Mobile phones carrying the SIM card can transfer e-CNY by tapping on one another.
  • Separately, China’s central bank announced that China Telecom has joined the research & development team working on the development of e-CNY.
  • China Mobile is a state-owned telecommunications company that operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.