Quick answer: Project mBridge is a multi-central-bank platform that lets participating central banks issue and exchange their own digital currencies directly for cross-border payments. It reached a minimum viable product stage in June 2024, but the Bank for International Settlements announced in October 2024 that it would step back and hand the project to its central-bank partners. It is one real experiment in reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar, though the data shows dollar dominance remains overwhelming.
Updated 07/17/2026. By Jake Claver. Educational content, not investment advice.
“BRICS dedollarization” gets used as a headline for almost any story about countries trying to trade outside the dollar. Most of those stories skip the plumbing. The plumbing is where the real question lives: can central banks actually settle cross-border payments with each other without routing through dollars and the correspondent-banking network that sits on top of them? Project mBridge is the clearest test case, and it comes with named primary sources rather than speculation.
This piece separates two things that often get blurred: the technology story (how a multi-CBDC settlement platform works) and the geopolitical story (whether the dollar is actually losing ground). They are related, but they are not the same claim.
What Project mBridge actually is
Project mBridge is a distributed-ledger platform on which multiple central banks can issue and exchange their respective central bank digital currencies. In plain terms, it lets participating central banks and their commercial banks send value to each other directly on a shared ledger, instead of relaying payments through a chain of correspondent banks. The BIS Project mBridge page describes the goal as instant, low-cost cross-border payment and settlement, and the detailed design is laid out in the BIS Project mBridge report.
The platform runs on a purpose-built chain called the mBridge Ledger, which is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, so it can act as a testbed for add-on solutions and interoperability with other systems. It grew out of collaboration that started in 2021 between the BIS Innovation Hub, the Bank of Thailand, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The Saudi Central Bank joined as a full participant in 2024, and the project lists more than 26 observing members, including the European Central Bank, the Reserve Bank of India, the Federal Reserve, the World Bank, and the IMF.
Where mBridge stands now
Two dates matter. On June 5, 2024, the BIS announced that mBridge had reached the minimum viable product stage, meaning the platform was enabled to undertake real-value transactions subject to each jurisdiction’s readiness. The BIS press release framed this as an invitation for private-sector firms to build value-added solutions on top of the MVP.
Then, in October 2024, the BIS said it would leave the project and hand it to the participating central banks. That step back matters for how you read the project. It is real, it works technically, and it has reached a functioning milestone, but the international standard-setter that gave it credibility is no longer running it. Anyone claiming mBridge is a finished, dollar-replacing settlement system is overstating what has actually happened. It is a working prototype now owned by its members, with an uncertain path to scale.
Why dedollarization is harder than the headlines
A settlement rail is only half the story. The other half is whether anyone actually wants to hold and invoice in something other than dollars. The evidence there is blunt. The Carnegie Endowment analysis found the dollar was on one side of nearly 90 percent of all global foreign-exchange transactions, while the renminbi accounted for roughly 1.6 percent in 2022. The renminbi’s share of global central-bank reserves rose from about 1.08 percent in late 2016 to only 2.45 percent by mid-2023. The dollar’s reserve share fell over that period but still sat near 59 percent.
The practical trap Carnegie describes is that exchanging two smaller BRICS currencies often still requires the dollar as an intermediary, because direct markets between those currencies are thin. Building rails like mBridge could ease that friction over time, but a payment platform does not by itself create demand to hold a currency, deep capital markets, or trust in an issuer’s institutions. Those are the harder problems, and they move slowly.
Where stablecoins and other networks fit
mBridge is a central-bank project, but the broader conversation includes privately issued stablecoins and public settlement networks. U.S. regulators have been documenting stablecoins as potential settlement instruments for years: the President’s Working Group’s stablecoin report laid out both the promise and the risks of dollar-pegged tokens moving real value. On the commodities and market side, the CFTC digital assets resources track how these instruments are treated in U.S. markets. Research infrastructure like MIT’s Project Hamilton studied the raw transaction throughput a hypothetical digital dollar would need.
A caution worth keeping: it is easy to jump from “cross-border settlement is being rebuilt” to a specific token. mBridge is a multi-CBDC platform, not a public token network, and it does not endorse any of them. Public networks like Stellar, XDC, or Hedera address related problems, but do not attach them to mBridge without a direct source that names them. Keep the settlement story and any investment story separate.
Why this matters
For advisors, family offices, and anyone building a long-term view of digital assets, mBridge is a useful signal precisely because it is documented and unglamorous. It shows central banks taking cross-border settlement seriously enough to build and test working infrastructure. It also shows the limits: the BIS stepping back, the slow movement in actual reserve and trade data, and the gap between a functioning prototype and a system that reshapes global money. Reading the primary sources gives you a clearer map of where real development is happening versus where the narrative is running ahead of the facts.
Common questions
What is Project mBridge in simple terms?
It is a shared digital-ledger platform that lets several central banks issue their own digital currencies and exchange them directly for cross-border payments, instead of routing every transaction through correspondent banks. It reached a minimum viable product stage in June 2024.
Did the BIS leave Project mBridge?
Yes. In October 2024 the Bank for International Settlements announced it would step back from mBridge and hand the project to its participating central banks, after the platform reached its minimum viable product milestone earlier that year.
Is the U.S. dollar actually being replaced?
Not by the current data. Carnegie Endowment research found the dollar was on one side of nearly 90 percent of global foreign-exchange transactions, while the renminbi’s reserve share was about 2.45 percent in mid-2023. Dedollarization faces serious structural headwinds even as new rails are built.
Which countries participate in mBridge?
The founding participants are the central banks of Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, China (through the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China), and Hong Kong. The Saudi Central Bank joined as a full participant in 2024, and more than 26 institutions are observing members.
Does mBridge use a specific cryptocurrency like XRP or XDC?
No. mBridge runs on its own purpose-built ledger that exchanges central bank digital currencies. It is not built on a public token, and there is no primary source connecting it to XRP, XLM, XDC, or HBAR.
This content is educational only. It is not tax, legal, or investment advice. Check primary sources and speak with a qualified professional before making financial decisions.
