Photo taken on March 13, 2018 shows the headquarters of the People's Bank of China. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, pledged in a recent national meeting to boost the research and development (R&D) of the country's fiat digital currency under efforts to improve the management of currencies.

The central bank made the statement after a 2020 national currency, gold and silver teleconference held on Friday, at a time when the safety of currencies has been given increased attention amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the wake of the meeting, mainland shares relevant to digital currencies strengthened.

Shares of Julong Co, a currency security operations provider based in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, surged by the daily limit of 10 percent to 9.22 yuan ($1.30) during the morning session on Tuesday. Shenzhen-based fintech incubator Forms Syntron also rose by the daily limit to 33.75 yuan.

According to industry insiders, the launch of the central bank's digital currency may be accelerated once COVID-19 is eradicated, with a pilot project expected among major state-owned commercial banks like the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, media reports said.