Money & Finance › Currencies, the dollar & crypto › Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)
Project mBridge: shared ledger for central-bank money
Since 2021· Institution or agency
Fact, law or dataA rule, statute, definition or measured number.
mBridge is a shared ledger on which several central banks settle cross-border payments in their own digital currencies.
See it on the Money & Finance map →How it works
Begun in 2021 with the BIS Innovation Hub, it links the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the UAE; Saudi Arabia joined in June 2024. Commercial banks pay each other directly in wholesale central-bank money, settling in seconds instead of through chains of correspondent banks. It reached a 'minimum viable product' in 2024. The BIS withdrew that October, leaving the members to run it. By late 2025 it had processed over 4,000 payments worth about $55 billion.
Why it matters
It shows a working route for cross-border payments outside SWIFT and US correspondent banks, though it is still tiny next to them.
Facts, rules and data
BIS project reports, central-bank statements, and an Atlantic Council analysis, reported by Reuters in January 2026, of volume growth and the yuan's dominant share.
Debates and risks
Why the BIS really left: it cited the project's maturity, while observers pointed to sanctions worries. Whether more countries join is open.
Connections (3)
▸China's e-CNY digital yuan carries most of the volume on Project mBridge: shared ledger for central-bank moneyMainstream view
The connection
On mBridge, banks settle cross-border payments in wholesale versions of their central banks' digital money. Most of that money has been digital yuan: an Atlantic Council analysis estimated about 95% of the roughly $55 billion volume by late 2025.
When and why
Reported by Reuters in January 2026; Bank of China has led record transactions on the platform.
How solid is the link?
The 95% figure is an outside estimate, not an official release from the mBridge central banks.
Debates and risks
Whether other members will use their own currencies more, or mBridge becomes mainly a yuan channel.
▸Project mBridge: shared ledger for central-bank money links several countries' Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)Fact, law or data
The connection
mBridge uses wholesale CBDCs: central-bank money for banks, not the public. Each member central bank issues its digital currency on the shared ledger, and banks in different countries swap them directly, payment against payment, in seconds.
When and why
Built since 2021 by the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE and, from 2024, Saudi Arabia.
How we know
BIS reports on the pilots and the 2024 minimum viable product.
Debates and risks
Whether wholesale CBDCs can scale, and who settles disputes among members with different legal systems.
▸Project mBridge: shared ledger for central-bank money offers a possible bypass around SWIFT: the bank messaging networkExperts disagree
The connection
A normal cross-border payment runs on SWIFT messages and chains of correspondent banks, often in dollars, taking a day or more. mBridge settles directly between members on one ledger, needing neither. That could let trade avoid dollar channels and US oversight, though volumes so far are tiny next to SWIFT's.
When and why
Pilot results from 2022; debate grew after the BIS exit in October 2024.
How solid is the link?
BIS pilots showed settlement in seconds; real use remains small, about $55 billion in total by late 2025.
Debates and risks
Whether mBridge could be used to evade sanctions, a worry its members reject.