China's mBridge Cross-Border Digital Currency Platform to Launch Commercial Operations

ME News reports that on June 14 (UTC+8), the cross-border digital currency platform mBridge, led by China, is preparing for its commercial launch. Participants include the People’s Bank of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the central banks of Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, with a physical entity to be established in Hong Kong to oversee operations. Sources familiar with the matter say preparations for commercial rollout are in an advanced stage, with fees expected to be approximately half those of traditional international payment systems like SWIFT, aiming to attract small and medium-sized enterprises that struggle with high cross-border payment costs. Built on blockchain technology, mBridge enables central banks to transact directly using their respective digital currencies, reducing foreign exchange transaction times to seconds and decreasing reliance on the U.S. dollar as an intermediary currency. To date, the platform has processed a cumulative transaction volume of approximately RMB 47 billion (about USD 6.9 billion). Gene Ma, Head of China Research at the Institute of International Finance, stated that the global payments landscape is shifting from SWIFT dominance toward a multi-network competitive environment, with mBridge set to become one of the key players. mBridge was previously transferred from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to member-led governance in 2024; while many outside observers believe this move was related to U.S. pressure, the BIS has denied this claim. (Source: Foresight News)