Tencent will create a cryptocurrency research group

Chinese Internet giant Tencent will create a unit to study possible use casescryptocurrencies, reports 8btc.

The new team will explore the possibilities of using digital currency in the company's payment business and other application scenarios.

It also aims to monitor the regulatory regime and support government digital asset initiatives.

Earlier it was reported that the People's Bank of China (NBK) is preparing to test the electronic payment system based on its own digital currency in the cities of Shenzhen and Suzhou.

Chinese media have suggested that the new Tencent division will work on this government pilot project in Shenzhen. The company did not refute this information and did not comment.

About 1.1 billion people use Tencent's WeChat messenger, and WeChat Pay is one of the largest mobile payment systems in the country.

Tencent said earlier that the Libra project from Facebook poses a serious threat to existing digital payment systems.