Project mBridge (Multiple CBDC Bridge) is an experimental cross-border payment platform built on distributed ledger technology that enables central banks to issue and exchange wholesale CBDCs directly with one another, bypassing the correspondent banking system that currently routes most international payments through US dollar intermediaries.
The project's founding participants are the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, the Digital Currency Institute of the People's Bank of China, and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. The Saudi Central Bank joined as a full participant in 2024. More than two dozen other central banks and international organisations participate as observers.
mBridge evolved from an earlier bilateral experiment, Project Inthanon-LionRock (Bank of Thailand and HKMA, launched 2019). It moved to a minimum viable product (MVP) stage in mid-2024, with the BIS announcing it was ready for real-value pilot transactions. In October 2024, BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens announced that the BIS would exit the project, leaving it to the participating central banks to continue development independently. The withdrawal followed political attention to the platform's potential to facilitate payment flows outside dollar-denominated rails, particularly after public remarks by Russian and BRICS officials suggesting interest in such infrastructure.
For IR researchers and MUN delegates, mBridge is significant on several axes:
- Monetary sovereignty and de-dollarisation: it offers a technical template for settling trade without USD intermediation, relevant to debates over sanctions resilience and BRICS payments cooperation.
- Financial plumbing governance: it raises questions about who sets standards for interoperable CBDCs—the BIS, the IMF, the G20, or ad hoc coalitions.
- Sanctions policy: US Treasury and congressional commentary has flagged concerns that wholesale CBDC corridors could complicate enforcement of secondary sanctions.
mBridge remains experimental; it is not a live, large-scale payment system, and participating central banks have not committed to a production launch timeline.
Example
In June 2024 the BIS announced that Project mBridge had reached minimum viable product stage, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Bank of Thailand, PBOC's Digital Currency Institute, and Central Bank of the UAE as core participants, before the BIS withdrew from the project later that year.
Frequently asked questions
BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens stated the project had graduated beyond the Innovation Hub's incubation role. The announcement followed political scrutiny over whether the platform could be used to bypass dollar-based sanctions, though the BIS framed its exit as a standard handover to participating central banks.
Keep learning