China-led cross-border digital currency platform Mbridge has processed more than $55 billion in transactions as it accelerates efforts to build payment rails that operate outside traditional dollar-based systems.

Project M Bridge, a multi-central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform, has now settled more than 4,000 cross-border transactions with a total value of around $55.5 billion, according to data. compiled by the Washington-based Atlantic Council. After the initial pilot phase of the project in 2022, this figure has increased to about 2,500 times.

The platform is currently being tested by central banks in mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. China’s digital yuan, or ECNY, accounts for an estimated 95 percent of total settlement volume on Mbridge.

Mbridge’s rapid expansion comes as China continues to scale up its domestic CBDC infrastructure. Recent data from the People’s Bank of China shows that ECNY has Implementation More than 3.4 billion transactions worth about 16.7 trillion yuan ($2.4 trillion) in 2023, an increase of more than 800 percent.

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China allows banks to pay interest on digital yuan

As reported by QuintalGraph, China’s central bank is introducing a new framework for the digital yuan that will allow commercial banks to pay interest on ECNY wallet balances. The move aims to expand the digital yuan beyond its initial role as a cash-like payment instrument.

According to the People’s Bank of China, the framework will enable banks to integrate the digital yuan into their asset and liability management. PBOC Deputy Governor Lu Li said ECNY will transform into a “digital deposit currency” by expanding its role to include daily transactions as well as value storage and cross-border payments.

Atlantic Council analyst Alisha Chhangani told Instead of directly challenging the dominance of the US dollar, China and its partners are building parallel settlement rails that reduce reliance on existing dollar-based systems, Reuters added.

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BIS pulls out of Project M Bridge amid sanctions evasion concerns

In 2024, the Bank for International Settlements withdrew from Mbridge, the project it had helped develop into its innovation hub since 2021, describing the move as a “graduation” rather than a withdrawal.

At the time, BIS General Manager Egston Carsten tried to distance BIS from speculation that the Ambridge could be used by BRICS nations to circumvent international sanctions, claiming that “the Ambridge is not a BRICS bridge.” He said the BIS system could not be used by acceding countries, even as the overlap between Mbridge participants and BRICS members fueled debate over the project’s geopolitical implications.