The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has filed four new patents centering on digital currency wallet, another step forward for its planned digital currency.

The filings are for a digital wallet that would enable users to securely check their financial transactions and manage digital currencies with multiple levels of encrypted security, which signals the country has been technically prepared to release its own digital currency.

According to data from China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), four new patent applications related to digital currency submitted by the Digital Currency Research Institute at the People’s Bank of China have been revealed in a month since May 29, pushing the total number submitted by the institute to 41 over the past 12 months since its launch.

The institute submitted 33 pieces of applications and was the world’s third blockchain patent holders in 2017, as previously reported by 8btc. It seems since 2018 the institute has quickened its pace in rolling out a fiat digital currency that has the essential features of cryptocurrency and fit for the existing monetary system.

Yang Dong, vice president of Law School of China People’s University and director of the Center for Financial Technology, in January disclosed that

China’s legal digital currency, now still in its R&D stage, will seek opportunity to launch. Its influence on existing monetary policy, monetary system, economy, society and people’s life, as well as international influence, shall all be considered. If all goes well, the legal digital currency is expected to come out in the second half of 2018.

Martti Malmi, the first core developer in Satoshi Nakamoto’s Team to participate in Bitcoin project, recently commented that China’s digital payment system such as Alipay is already significantly developed, which boost most Chinese’s understanding and interest in digital currency.

Despite crackdown on cryptocurrencies, people in the country can still trade bitcoin; on the other hand, the country is speeding up developing its own digital currency and making full use of its underlying technology blockchain in its central institutions. Last month, China’s Ministry of Public Security was revealed to file a patent for a blockchain-based system which aim to securely store evidence collected during police investigations.