By the beginning of 2026, the international payment platform mBridge processed approximately four thousand cross-border transactions. The overwhelming majority of these operations — about 95% — involved the use of the digital yuan (e-CNY). To date, e-CNY is considered the largest practical experiment in the world for the implementation of a central bank digital currency (#CBDC ).
According to official data from the People's Bank of China, since the project's launch, over 3.4 billion transactions with the digital yuan have been conducted. The total transaction volume reached approximately 16.7 trillion yuan, which is equivalent to about 2.4 trillion US dollars. Notably, compared to 2023, this figure has increased more than eightfold, demonstrating a growth of over 800%. This indicates the rapid expansion of the digital yuan's application both domestically and internationally.
Atlantic Council expert Alesha Chhangani notes that China and partner states do not aim to completely replace the US dollar in the global financial system. Their main goal is to create an alternative, parallel mechanism for international settlements that would reduce dependence on the American currency and dollar infrastructure. According to the analyst, although the mBridge project is unlikely to directly challenge the global dominance of the dollar in the near term, it can gradually and systematically weaken its position.
Chhangani also believes that in the future, the mBridge platform will increasingly focus on servicing foreign trade operations. This primarily concerns settlements in strategically important sectors such as energy and commodity trading, where participating countries are interested in reducing currency and sanctions risks.
Currently, the central banks of China, Hong Kong (as a special administrative region of China), Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia are participating in the testing of mBridge. Saudi Arabia joined the project later than the others, joining the initiative in the summer of 2024, which was seen as an important step in expanding the platform's geography.
A significant milestone in the development of mBridge was the first transaction using a digital currency not linked to China. It was conducted in November 2025 using a digital dirham. The operation was carried out by the UAE Ministry of Finance and the Dubai Department of Finance, confirming the possibility of multilateral use of the platform for settlements between various CBDCs.
In the early stages, the creation and development of mBridge was overseen by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). However, at the end of 2024, this Swiss organization exited the project and focused its efforts on another initiative that brings together seven central banks, including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Bank of France (representing the European Central Bank), the Bank of Japan, the Swiss National Bank, and the Bank of England. Nevertheless, according to the Atlantic Council, this project has yet to come close to mBridge in terms of scale and volume of operations.
An additional incentive for the popularization of the digital yuan was the decision made by Chinese authorities in 2026 to pay interest on funds held in #eCNY . This measure is expected to enhance the attractiveness of the digital currency for the public and businesses, as well as accelerate its integration into everyday financial operations.