Executive Summary
- •Saudi Arabia's central bank officially exited the China-led mBridge cross-border payments platform after finishing its proof-of-concept.
- •The distributed ledger platform reportedly handled approximately $55.5B in transactions by late 2025.
- •The withdrawal prevents Saudi oil settlements from moving to a non-dollar, anti-SWIFT infrastructure in the near term.
Community Sentiment
Key Developments & Data
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has officially withdrawn from the China-led mBridge cross-border payments platform following a minimum viable product proof-of-concept phase completed on May 13, 2025.
The distributed ledger platform, designed to reduce reliance on correspondent banking networks, reportedly processed approximately $55.5B in real transaction volume by late 2025.
SAMA's departure follows the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which originally launched the project in 2021 through its Innovation Hub but exited active involvement in October 2024.
The system's remaining members—including the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE—are continuing development toward a commercial rollout under a new Hong Kong-based entity.
Riyadh's exit removes the world's largest oil exporter from a platform explicitly built to bypass SWIFT and dollar clearing, keeping Saudi energy settlements tied to traditional Western financial infrastructure.
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Zubiqo Strategic Assessment
Primary Impact
Global macro markets and Western correspondent banking networks, as the immediate threat of a major OPEC producer utilizing non-dollar clearing rails is delayed.
Strategic Shift
The geopolitical limit of CBDC experimentation, showing that allied nations will test alternative financial infrastructure but hesitate to fully decouple from SWIFT.
The Ripple Effect
Increased Western regulatory pressure and sanctions scrutiny on the remaining mBridge participants as the platform transitions to an independently operated Hong Kong entity.
This intelligence assessment is generated by Zubiqo's AI for informational purposes only.
