Saudi Central Bank Withdraws from mBridge Digital Currency Initiative Backed by China: Financial Times
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority has withdrawn from the mBridge project, a cross-border central bank digital currency initiative that has attracted attention from United States policy officials, the Financial Times reports.
According to the Financial Times, Saudi Arabia has pulled out of the mBridge initiative, a cross-border digital currency platform backed by China that was created to facilitate direct transaction capabilities between central banking institutions.
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, known as SAMA, became a full participant in the mBridge project in June 2024 and concluded its involvement following the completion of a proof of concept on May 13, 2025, the FT reported, referencing a statement released by the central banking authority. According to SAMA, the organization had originally intended to terminate its participation.
The mBridge initiative was founded in 2021 as a collaborative effort between the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub and central banking institutions from China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, with the goal of facilitating faster and more cost-effective cross-border payment systems.
Instead of utilizing a single stablecoin, the infrastructure enables participating central banking institutions to issue and conduct transactions using their own digital currencies on a shared distributed ledger, including for international payments and currency exchange operations.
The initiative remained under BIS development until October 2024, at which point the organization transferred control to the participating central banking institutions after mBridge achieved its minimum viable product phase. Agustín Carstens, who served as BIS General Manager at the time, stated that the BIS withdrawal was not influenced by political considerations.
Despite this, the initiative has attracted attention from policymakers in the United States. A report published in 2024 by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission indicated that mBridge could potentially serve as an alternative cross-border settlement infrastructure for nations looking to circumvent US sanctions.
The Saudi Central Bank was contacted by Cointelegraph for commentary but had not provided a response at the time this article was published.
China weighs digital currencies' role in cross-border payments
Meanwhile, the central bank of China has placed increasing emphasis on the potential role that stablecoins might serve in international payment systems as their adoption continues to grow worldwide.
In June, Wang Xin, director General of the People's Bank of China Research Bureau, advocated for enhanced monitoring of stablecoins and central bank digital currencies in cross-border payment systems, alongside improved international cooperation and coordination.
Wang Xin's remarks followed by several months the decision by Chinese authorities to impose restrictions on the unauthorized creation and issuance of renminbi-pegged stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, including those issued by foreign organizations.