The Receipts
Project mBridge, the cross-border CBDC platform piloted by China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, has processed over $55.5 billion in cumulative transactions, according to new data from the Atlantic Council. The platform has executed more than 4,000 cross-border settlements, marking a 2,500-fold increase in value since its 2022 pilot phase.
The dominance is absolute: China’s digital yuan (e-CNY) accounts for approximately 95% of all liquidity on the network. This confirms mBridge is not merely a neutral utility but a functional rail for yuan-denominated international trade, bypassing the U.S. dollar-based correspondent banking system (SWIFT).
The Institutional Context
This volume surge follows a critical governance shift. In October 2024, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) graduated the project, effectively handing full operational control to the participating central banks. The exit of the western-dominated BIS removed the last layer of G7 oversight, leaving the platform fully in the hands of the BRICS-aligned axis.
“Rather than directly challenging dollar hegemony, China and its partner countries are building a parallel payments network that reduces reliance on the dollar-centric settlement system.” Alisha Chhangani, Atlantic Council
Domestic Velocity
The cross-border volume is supported by massive domestic scaling. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) reported that domestic e-CNY transactions reached 3.4 billion, totaling 16.7 trillion yuan (~$2.4 trillion). This represents an 800% year-over-year increase from 2023.
Beijing further integrated the currency into the commercial banking sector in January, allowing banks to pay interest on e-CNY wallet balances. This reclassifies the token from a “cash equivalent” to a “digital deposit currency,” making it viable for large-scale institutional treasury management.
Market Impact
With Saudi Arabia joining as a full participant in mid-2024, mBridge now connects the world’s largest oil exporter with its largest consumer via a rail that settles in seconds, not days. While $55 billion is a fraction of global FX flows, the 95% yuan dominance signals that the “Petroyuan” trade is moving from theory to on-chain execution.
