CNBC reports that China’s central bank said that interest in China’s digital yuan project could in part be driven by the surging price of bitcoin.

China’s digital yuan is an example of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) which aims to replace some of the cash in circulation.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) sees it as a way to advance cashless payments. It is effectively a digital version of fiat currency.

Wang Xin, PBOC research bureau director, said market interest in the digital yuan is “very strong and everyone is paying close attention.”

“On one hand, this is related to more and more central banks in the world participating in the development of domestic digital currencies,” Wang said.

“On the other hand, this (interest) may also be related to the large increase in the price of bitcoin,” Wang said.

The price of bitcoin has repeatedly hit record highs in the past few months. This year alone, it has more than doubled.