Project mBridge is a multi-Central Bank Digital Currency (m-CBDC) platform, which is a type of experimental scheme designed to enhance the efficiency of cross-border payments. The project originated from an earlier bilateral experiment, Project Inthanon-LionRock, which began with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) in May 2019. The problem it aims to solve is the high cost, low speed, and operational complexity of traditional cross-border transactions, which typically rely on the correspondent banking system and often intermediate through the US dollar.
The project evolved into mBridge in 2021 through collaboration between the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, the Bank of Thailand, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE), the Digital Currency Institute of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), and the HKMA. The core mechanism involves a shared technical infrastructure built on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), specifically a new blockchain called the mBridge Ledger. This platform allows participating central banks to issue and exchange wholesale CBDCs directly with one another, enabling real-time, peer-to-peer cross-border payments and foreign exchange transactions.
Project mBridge reached its Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage in mid-2024. An informed reader should know that the platform is often connected to the concept of de-dollarisation and sanctions resilience, as it offers a technical template for settling trade without US dollar intermediation. In terms of recent changes, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) exited the project in October 2024, handing it over to the participating central banks. The Saudi Central Bank joined as a full participant in 2024 but completed its proof-of-concept and exited the project in May 2025. The four founding central banks—China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE—remain the operational core, continuing development independently under a self-defined governance and legal framework.