According to a Reuters report citing data from the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank tracking central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), China's e-CNY has processed $55 billion in cross-border payments through the mBridge platform. The mBridge protocol is a multi-CBDC bridge designed to facilitate real-time cross-border payments and foreign exchange transactions using digital currencies of participating nations.
mBridge Transaction Breakdown
Reporter Marc Jones wrote that transfers via mBridge have surpassed $55 billion, with 95% settled in e-CNY. The platform leverages smart contracts to bypass traditional systems like SWIFT, eliminating intermediaries and enabling settlement within seconds at near-zero cost. It also incorporates compliance checks, fixed exchange rates, and cryptographic security.
Participating central banks include the People's Bank of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, the Central Bank of the UAE, and the Bank of Saudi Arabia, alongside 20 commercial banks. Atlantic Council data shows the protocol has handled more than 4,000 transactions.
Impact on Dollar Dominance
“Taken together, these developments point to a gradual expansion of the yuan’s internationalization through digital infrastructure,” said Alisha Chhangani of the Atlantic Council. “Project mBridge is unlikely to challenge dollar dominance directly, but it may incrementally erode it.” As of end-2025, 136 other nations are in CBDC development, pilot, or launch stages. Only three countries—the Bahamas (Sand Dollar), Jamaica (JAM-DEX), and Nigeria (eNaira)—have fully rolled out retail CBDCs.
Broader e-CNY Adoption
The PBOC reports that e-CNY has processed approximately 3.4 billion transactions worth about 16.7 trillion yuan ($2.4 trillion). While early adoption was limited, the digital yuan is now gaining real-world traction. Analysts suggest e-CNY is moving beyond pilot stage into functional deployment, particularly in cross-border settlements. Though not poised to replace the dollar, its growing transaction volumes and institutional backing via mBridge indicate a slow but deliberate recalibration of global payments infrastructure.