mBridge
artifactMoney & Finance · Nations & Geopolitics · Crypto & Digital ID
A China-led digital-money network that could let countries trade around the US-dominated SWIFT system.
Who they are
mBridge, a shared digital-currency platform built by several central banks.
What they do
It lets countries settle cross-border payments in digital currency, mostly China's digital yuan, without the usual Western plumbing.
How it works
It has handled over $55.5 billion in 4,000+ transactions, with China's e-CNY making up about 95% of settlements and costs roughly half of SWIFT's. The Bank for International Settlements handed it off to its partner central banks in late 2024, then launched a rival, sanctions-compliant platform called Project Agorá — partly out of worry that Russia or Iran could copy mBridge to dodge SWIFT.
Why it matters
It is a real, working test of whether the world can build payment rails outside US financial control.
The engine's record — word for word
Multilateral CBDC platform. $55.5B cumulative volume. 4,000+ cross-border transactions. e-CNY ~95% of settlement. ~50% cost reduction vs SWIFT. BIS withdrew late 2024. [Report #124] Successor: after the BIS handed mBridge to its partner central banks (Oct 2024), the BIS pivoted to PROJECT AGORÁ (see node project_agora) — a tokenized wholesale marketplace of SANCTIONS-COMPLIANT central banks only — amid Western-member concern that the mBridge ledger could be cloned by Russia/Iran to bypass SWIFT. Substrate-vs-Announcement (#79).
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