TL;DR

• China-backed Project mBridge has processed over $55 billion in cross-border transactions, up roughly 2,500 times since 2022.
• The digital yuan accounts for about 95% of all settlement volume on the platform.
• Central banks from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia are active participants.
• The BIS exited the project in late 2024, shifting focus to a separate Western-led initiative.
• Analysts say mBridge is not a direct threat to the dollar, but could slowly weaken its dominance at the margins.

China’s push to modernize cross-border payments through central bank digital currencies is starting to show real scale. Project mBridge, a multi-country CBDC settlement platform led by China, has now processed more than $55 billion in cumulative transactions, according to new data cited by Reuters.

That figure marks a dramatic jump from the platform’s early days. Since 2022, transaction volume has increased by roughly 2,500 times, based on analysis from the Atlantic Council. While still small compared to traditional global payment rails, the pace of growth highlights how quickly state-backed digital currency systems can expand once they move beyond pilot phases. At the center of that growth is China’s digital yuan.

Project mBridge brings together central banks from mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. The goal is straightforward: allow participating institutions to settle cross-border payments directly using central bank digital currencies, without relying on correspondent banks or dollar-based intermediaries. In practice, the platform is overwhelmingly driven by China. Roughly 95% of total settlement volume on mBridge has been conducted using the digital yuan, according to the Reuters report. Other participating currencies remain active, but on a far smaller scale. This imbalance reflects both China’s early investment in CBDC infrastructure and its broader ambition to modernize trade settlement. 

For years, Chinese policymakers have argued that cross-border payments are too slow, too expensive, and too dependent on systems outside Beijing’s control. mBridge is designed to address all three concerns at once. Instead of routing payments through multiple banks and jurisdictions, transactions on mBridge settle directly between central bank-issued digital currencies. That reduces processing time and cuts out layers of fees, while keeping settlement firmly within the control of participating monetary authorities.

Domestic momentum feeds the cross-border push

The growth of mBridge is closely tied to rising usage of the digital yuan at home. According to the People’s Bank of China, the e-CNY has now processed more than 3.4 billion transactions worth around $2.4 trillion. That represents an increase of more than 800% compared with 2023, Reuters reported. What’s changed recently is not just volume, but how the digital yuan is being positioned. At the start of January, China introduced a new framework allowing commercial banks to pay interest on digital yuan holdings. That move shifts the e-CNY away from being treated purely as digital cash and closer to a digital deposit currency.

In practical terms, it gives users a reason to hold digital yuan balances rather than simply moving funds in and out. For cross-border use, that matters. Liquidity and willingness to hold a currency are prerequisites for settlement at scale. As more banks and businesses become comfortable using the digital yuan domestically, extending it into trade and cross-border flows becomes easier. mBridge acts as the technical bridge between those two worlds.

What this means for the dollar

 Despite the headline numbers, analysts caution against overstating mBridge’s immediate impact on the global financial order. The US dollar still dominates trade invoicing, reserves, and cross-border payments by a wide margin. As Atlantic Council analyst Alisha Chhangani told Reuters,

mBridge is not designed to replace existing systems overnight. Instead, it offers an alternative route for specific trade corridors, especially where China plays a central role. Over time, even small shifts in settlement behavior can add up, particularly if they reduce reliance on dollar clearing in certain regions.

For countries that have faced sanctions, payment delays, or rising costs in the traditional banking system, the appeal of a direct, state-backed settlement platform is obvious.

Closing Thoughts 

One of the striking aspects of mBridge’s growth is how little attention it has received outside policy circles. There has been no splashy launch or marketing campaign. Instead, the platform has expanded quietly, transaction by transaction, as central banks test and refine its capabilities. With more than $55 billion already processed, mBridge has moved beyond the proof-of-concept stage. It now represents a functioning, high-volume settlement system that operates alongside traditional rails. Whether it remains a niche tool or becomes a lasting fixture of cross-border finance will depend on politics as much as technology. 

For now, the numbers suggest that China’s experiment with CBDC-based settlement is no longer theoretical. It’s live, growing, and increasingly hard to ignore.