Saudi Arabia exits China-backed mBridge digital currency project

Saudi Arabia's central bank has ended its participation in the mBridge cross-border digital currency platform, a project that has drawn scrutiny from U.S. policymakers over its potential to reduce reliance on the dollar. The Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, confirmed it completed a planned proof of concept on May 13, 2025, and is no longer a participating member. SAMA stated the withdrawal was part of its original plan for testing the technology. The central bank initially joined mBridge as an observing member in 2023 under the Bank for International Settlements before becoming a full participant in June 2024 alongside China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. The mBridge project, established in 2021, uses distributed ledger technology to allow participating central banks to issue and transact in their own digital currencies for cross-border payments and foreign exchange. It aims to make international payments faster and cheaper by enabling direct settlement without requiring the dollar as an intermediary currency.