Saudi Arabia withdraws from mBridge CBDC project backed by China

Saudi Arabia’s central bank has withdrawn from mBridge, a China-backed project aimed at enabling cross-border transactions between central banks using digital currencies on a shared infrastructure. The Financial Times reported that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) joined as a full participant in June 2024 and completed its proof of concept before ending its involvement on May 13, 2025.

SAMA said it had planned to finish participation after completing the proof-of-concept stage, according to the central bank’s statement cited by the Financial Times. The move highlights both the practical limits of CBDC experimentation and the geopolitical scrutiny that increasingly surrounds cross-border digital currency networks.

Key takeaways

• SAMA participated in mBridge as a full participant starting June 2024, then ended its involvement after completing a proof of concept on May 13, 2025.
• mBridge is designed for central banks to issue and transact in their own digital currencies on a shared ledger rather than relying on a single stablecoin.
• The BIS-led project was handed over to participating central banks after reaching a “minimum viable product” stage in October 2024.
• US policymakers have raised concerns that mBridge-like systems could become alternatives for countries seeking to evade US sanctions.
• Separately, China’s central bank research arm has emphasized monitoring stablecoins and closer international coordination as cross-border use grows.

Saudi Arabia exits after proof-of-concept milestone

According to the Financial Times, SAMA joined mBridge in June 2024 as a full participant. The central bank then concluded its participation after completing a proof of concept on May 13, 2025. The report attributes the timing to SAMA’s stated plan to end participation after the proof-of-concept phase.

While SAMA’s exit does not necessarily signal that mBridge failed as a technical exercise, it does underscore a common reality in CBDC experimentation: participation often remains bounded to specific trials, governance requirements, and policy risk management. For market observers, it raises an immediate question—whether other participating central banks will extend their roles beyond initial testing, or similarly treat mBridge as a time-limited sandbox.

How mBridge works: multiple central-bank currencies on one ledger

mBridge was established in 2021 through a collaboration between the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub and central banks from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. The project’s stated goal was to make cross-border payments faster and cheaper.

Crucially, mBridge does not rely on a single stablecoin. Instead, participating central banks are able to issue and transact in their own digital currencies on a shared ledger. The platform is intended to support cross-border payments and foreign exchange transactions, reflecting an architecture designed to connect sovereign digital money systems rather than substitute for them.

That design choice matters for investors and builders because it frames mBridge as an interoperability experiment among central-bank systems, not a token economy that depends on one public-asset issuer. It also affects regulatory complexity: each participating jurisdiction remains responsible for the issuance and rules around its digital currency, even if settlement logic is coordinated on shared infrastructure.

BIS handover in October 2024 and ongoing political scrutiny

Development of mBridge continued under the BIS until October 2024. At that point, the BIS handed the project over to the participating central banks after the network reached what the BIS described as a minimum viable product stage.

The BIS has previously said its departure was not politically motivated. Then-BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens made remarks on the future of finance, noting that the BIS role in such projects should not be read as a political signal. The project’s institutional transition—from BIS experimentation to central-bank operation—suggests a move from proof-of-concept toward potential operationalization, but the ultimate pace depends on each country’s policy stance and technical readiness.

Even so, mBridge has attracted attention in Washington. A 2024 report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said mBridge could eventually provide an alternative cross-border settlement system for countries trying to evade US sanctions. The report reflects a wider policy concern that digital settlement platforms—particularly those involving major financial hubs—might shift clearing and settlement dynamics in ways that complicate existing sanctions regimes.

For readers tracking the intersection of crypto infrastructure and regulation, this is a key tension. Technical interoperability efforts between central banks can be framed as efficiency improvements, but they can also become political touchpoints—especially if they mature into real settlement channels.

China’s stablecoin stance keeps evolving alongside CBDC experiments

As mBridge developments unfold, China has also been shaping its approach to stablecoins in cross-border payments. In June, People’s Bank of China Research Bureau director general Wang Xin called for closer monitoring of stablecoins and central bank digital currencies in cross-border payments, along with greater international coordination. The remarks were reported by Cointelegraph.

Wang’s comments came after Chinese authorities restricted unauthorized issuance of renminbi-pegged stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, including those issued by foreign entities. Taken together, the pattern suggests that China is not simply embracing tokenized payments; it is attempting to manage risks and jurisdictional boundaries while positioning itself for future cross-border digital settlement.

For market participants, the implication is that cross-border digital settlement will likely remain a patchwork of models—some centered on regulated sovereign issuance, others on stablecoin rails—each subject to increasingly explicit monitoring requirements. Investors should watch whether international coordination steps translate into clearer compliance frameworks for tokenized payment systems, or whether restrictions tighten further.

What to watch next

SAMA’s exit from mBridge after a defined proof-of-concept period may be only one chapter in a broader CBDC experiment cycle. The next developments to track are whether remaining central-bank participants expand their work beyond trials, and how US policy scrutiny and China’s stablecoin monitoring agenda influence the direction of cross-border digital settlement infrastructure.