(Yicai Global) March 25 -- Shares of Chinese fintech firms involved in the country's digital currency surged after the central bank said it will expand the scope of the e-yuan’s pilot scheme.

Sinodata [SHE: 002657], which provides marketing and promotion services for clients using the sovereign cryptocurrency, rose by the upper limit of 10 percent to CNY15.40 (USD2.40) today. Emperor Tech [SHE: 300546], which develops e-yuan payment devices, closed 2.3 percent up at CNY35.70, after earlier surging as much as 11.7 percent.

The People’s Bank of China will promote the research and development of the digital yuan and expand the pilot scheme in an orderly manner, the monetary authority said in a statement on its website yesterday. It will also continue to increase its anti-counterfeit currency efforts.

Since October 2020, the e-yuan has been tested in 11 cities or scenarios, including Shenzhen, Xiong'an New Area, Chengdu, and at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

A third group of pilot areas are expected to be revealed soon while the provinces of Henan, Fujian, and Heilongjiang, as well as the cities of Chongqing and Guangzhou have proposed to join the group, according to a recent report by Shanghai Securities News. 

More online users are expected to be involved in the pilot as a test mobile app was released this year. As of Dec. 31, some 261 million personal wallets for e-yuan were set up, with transactions amounting to CNY87.6 billion (USD13.8 billion).

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi