China's mBridge CBDC Platform Settled $69bn in 18 Months, PBOC Official Says

Mu Changchun, director-general of the People's Bank of China's (PBOC) Digital Currency Research Institute, disclosed the figure on Wednesday at the Summer Davos forum in Dalian. He said 49 commercial banks have joined the platform, including 21 foreign banks. The digital yuan accounts for about 95% of settlement volume on mBridge.

Yuan rails draw scrutiny

The disclosure comes as the yuan's role in cross-border settlement draws sharper focus. Daily volumes on CIPS, the PBOC's renminbi clearing network, rose sharply in March before cooling to 674bn yuan in May, according to CIPS data.

A Wall Street Journal investigation published this week reported that Iran has used yuan rails to settle most of its oil sales to China, and demanded yuan or crypto for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict that began in February.

Mu extended mBridge's "no harm" principle – that a CBDC issuer must not undermine others' monetary sovereignty – to cover incumbent payment infrastructure, signalling the project aims to coexist with rather than displace SWIFT-based systems. CIPS itself still relies on SWIFT messaging for over 80% of its transactions.

Saudi joins, BIS withdraws

mBridge now counts Saudi Arabia, which joined in 2024, among its members alongside China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the UAE. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) withdrew from the project in 2024, citing concerns that the platform could be used to circumvent Western sanctions.

Beijing separately unveiled the Cross-Border e-CNY Transfer Services (CBETS), a second PBOC-led digital yuan settlement platform targeting a different segment of cross-border payments, with 26 banks signed on as of 16 Jun.