China-led CBCC platform mBridge has topped $55 billion in transaction volume.
China-led cross-border digital currency platform mBridge has handled more than $55 billion in transactions amid growing efforts to build payment channels that work outside of traditional dollar-based systems.
According to data compiled by the Washington-based Atlantic Council, Project mBridge, a multi-central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform, has now processed more than 4,000 cross-border transactions with a total value of nearly $55.5 billion. This figure represents a nearly 2,500-fold increase after the initial pilot phase of the project begins in 2022.
The platform is currently being piloted by central banks in mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. China's digital yuan, or e-CNI, accounts for 95 percent of the total settlement volume on mBridge.
Ambridge's rapid expansion comes as China continues to expand its domestic CDC infrastructure. According to the latest statistics from the People's Bank of China, e-CNI has processed more than 3.4 billion transactions worth 16.7 trillion yuan ($2.4 trillion), an increase of more than 800% compared to 2023.
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China to allow banks to pay interest in digital yuan
As Cointelegraph reports, China's central bank is proposing a new framework for digital yuan to allow commercial banks to pay interest on e-CNI wallet balances. The move aims to push the digital yuan beyond its initial role as a cash-like payment instrument.
According to the People's Bank of China, the framework will allow banks to integrate the digital yuan into their asset and liability management. PBOC Deputy Administrator Lu Lei said e-CNI will transition to a “digital depository,” expanding its role to include value storage and cross-border payments with everyday transactions.
Alisha Changani, an analyst at the Atlantic Council, told Reuters: “Together, these developments signal a gradual expansion of the yuan's globalization through a digital infrastructure. Rather than directly challenging the dominance of the US dollar, China and its allies are building parallel channels of settlement that reduce dependence on the current dollar-centric system.”
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BIS withdraws from project mBridge amid sanctions evasion threats
In the year In 2024, the Bank for International Settlements withdrew from mBridge, a project it had helped develop through the Innovation Hub since 2021, describing the move as a “graduation” rather than a “graduation”.
At the time, BIS General Manager Agustin Carstens tried to distance BIS from speculation that mBridge could be used by BRICS governments to bypass international sanctions, saying “mBridge is not a BRICS bridge”. Overlaps between Ambridge participants and BRICS members have led to debate over the project's geopolitical implications, but he said BIS systems cannot be used in countries under sanctions.
Since then, the BIS has shifted its focus to Project Agora, a separate effort involving several major Western central banks that recently announced expanded testing.
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