ICBC President Liu Jun: The Key to Digital Currency Lies in Credit Support and Responsibility Implementation

According to Caixin, Liu Jun, President of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, stated at the first Digital Renminbi Annual Conference held during the 2026 Financial Street Forum Annual Meeting that while digital technology promotes the development of the digital economy, it also brings changes to the currency trust mechanism. Data, algorithms, and programmability are beginning to participate in the generation and transmission of credit, with trust shifting from being supported by institutional singular points to being jointly supported by institutions and technology. However, technology can only reinforce trust, not replace it.

Liu Jun mentioned that whether digital currency can become a currency is not primarily about the algorithm design itself, but rather about how credit is supported and fulfilled, and how responsibility is implemented. He pointed out that currency is transitioning from physical forms to data, moving from multi-step clearing reliant on accounts and intermediaries to synchronous payment and settlement. The way currency is realized is changing, but its attributes remain the same, still fulfilling the three functions of a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account.