Saudi Arabia exits China-backed mBridge CBDC project: FT

Saudi Arabia’s central bank has ended its participation in mBridge, a cross-border digital-currency platform backed by China, the Financial Times reported. According to a SAMA statement cited by the FT, the bank joined mBridge as a full participant in June 2024 and withdrew after completing a proof of concept on May 13, 2025; SAMA said the withdrawal had been planned.

mBridge was launched in 2021 through a collaboration led by the BIS Innovation Hub and the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The platform was designed to allow participating central banks to issue and transact in their own digital currencies on a shared ledger for cross-border payments and foreign-exchange transactions, rather than relying on a single stablecoin.

Development of the project continued under the BIS until October 2024, when the BIS handed governance to the participating central banks after mBridge reached a minimum viable product stage. At the time, then-BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens said the BIS’s departure was not driven by political considerations.

mBridge has attracted attention from U.S. policymakers. A 2024 report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission warned the platform could potentially evolve into an alternative cross-border settlement system for countries seeking to evade U.S. sanctions. Cointelegraph contacted the Saudi Central Bank for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.