Saudi Arabia steps back from cross-border digital currency project

Saudi Arabia has stepped back from China-anchored mBridge, a blockchain-backed platform that settles cross-border transactions outside SWIFT and the USD, Financial Times reports. The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) told the newspaper it completed its mBridge proof of concept in May 2025 and has not been a participating member since — about a year after joining as a full participant in June 2024, having first come on as an observer in 2023.

SOUND SMART- mBridge lets central banks settle payments directly in digital versions of their own currencies over a shared blockchain ledger, cutting out the USD-mediated, correspondent-banking chain that typically runs through SWIFT. The platform offers faster and cheaper transactions, as well as being outside the US’ sanctions reach. Was the US behind the decision? The system sidesteps the US’ sanctions reach by presenting an alternative to the USD-mediated system — a fraught possibility that led the Trump administration to previously threaten 100% tariffs on BRICS members. One person familiar with SAMA’s decision told the FT it would be wrong to read too much into a limited-scope trial, while a second source complicated that framing, telling the FT that Saudi Arabia continues to engage with mBridge “more discreetly.” The Central Bank of the UAE, a founding member, is still an active participant, alongside the central banks of China, Thailand, Mongolia, Macau, and Hong Kong. Founded in 2021, the platform was led by the Bank for International Settlements, a multilateral institution with 63 central banks as members, until it stepped back in October 2024 under US pressure due to exposure to sanctioned Russia. The mBridge is still in the pilot phase, and we don’t have a fixed date for its commercial launch.

REMEMBER- SAMA isn’t new to cross-border digital transaction experiments. It ran an earlier bilateral pilot, Project Aber, with the UAE in 2019-2020. The UAE, however, remains ahead in the region when it comes to the financial and regulatory infrastructure facilitating digital currencies.