Chinese retailer JD.com has announced that it will become the first online store in the country to accept the digital yuan, the state-backed cryptocurrency that has been in development for the past few years. The adoption of the coin will go live later this month as part of a pilot program exploring central bank-sanctioned cryptocurrency facilitation. JD.com's fintech arm, JD Digits, will issue around 20 million digital yuan (€3 million) in total as part of a lottery for Suzhou city residents. Winners will receive a "red packet" via a mobile app containing 200 yuan of digital currency that can then be spent through JD.com's online shopping portal. This is not the first time China has conducted a trial of this nature. In October, 10 million digital yuan was given to Shenzhen citizens in a lottery, which could then be spent at more than 3.000 outlets in a particular area of the city.