The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has announced its departure from the mBridge project, which focuses on the development of an international Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) spearheaded by China, as reported by the Financial Times.
Initially joining as an observer in 2023, SAMA contributed to the project's pilot development, which culminated in a proof of concept on May 13, 2025. However, following this completion, Saudi Arabia chose to exit the initiative. The mBridge project leverages distributed ledger technology to streamline cross-border banking transactions, aiming to cut down on operational costs and processing times. Other countries still engaged in the project include China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE, and Macau.
