The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has officially withdrawn from mBridge, a cross-border digital currency platform backed by China. The network was designed to enable direct transactions between central banks across various countries without routing through the US dollar system. SAMA ended its participation on May 13, 2025, shortly after completing proof of concept testing.
Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the project was relatively brief. SAMA had only joined as a full participant in June 2024. When questioned about their departure, the monetary authority stated only that ending its participation had been planned from the beginning. SAMA provided no further explanation for the decision. Cointelegraph reached out to the Saudi central bank for comment but has not yet received a response.
Geopolitical Impact on Oil Sales
Saudi Arabia’s departure is considered a significant development from a geopolitical perspective. The Middle Eastern nation holds a crucial role as a major global oil producer that has long sold its petroleum in US dollars. Saudi Arabia’s presence in the mBridge alliance was previously viewed as an initial step by the oil-exporting country toward settling transactions outside dollar dominance.
The mBridge platform was established in 2021. It originated as a collaborative initiative between the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub and the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. Its infrastructure allows participating central banks to issue and transact using their own digital currencies on a shared ledger. The mechanism operates entirely without relying on a single stablecoin.
An Alternative System Amid Sanctions
The direct foreign exchange settlement model offered by mBridge raised alarms within the United States government. A 2024 report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission highlighted the platform’s trajectory, warning that mBridge could evolve into an alternative settlement system for nations seeking to circumvent US sanctions.
Operational oversight of the project has now transitioned to the central banks of the participating nations. The BIS decided to hand over the mBridge project to them in October 2024 after the platform reached the minimum viable product stage. Agustín Carstens, who served as General Manager of the BIS at the time, dismissed negative speculation regarding their exit. Carstens emphasized that the departure of the BIS from mBridge was not politically motivated.
The departure of a major oil producer presents a credibility test for the mBridge alliance. The payment network must now prove its viability relying exclusively on its original founding members.
Reported via Cointelegraph.
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