According to Foresight News and the Financial Times, China's cross-border digital currency platform mBridge is gearing up for a commercial launch. Participants include the People's Bank of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and central banks from Thailand, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, with plans to set up a physical operation in Hong Kong. Insiders report that preparations for the launch are in deep stages, and costs will be about half of traditional international payment systems like Swift, which is expected to attract SMEs struggling with high cross-border payment fees.

mBridge is built on blockchain technology, allowing central banks to transact directly in their national digital currencies, compressing forex trading time to just seconds while reducing reliance on the dollar as an intermediary currency. So far, the platform has processed transactions totaling around 47 billion yuan (approximately 6.9 billion USD). Gene Ma, the China research head at the Institute of International Finance, stated that the global payment landscape is shifting from Swift dominance to multi-network competition, with mBridge set to be one of the key players. Previously, in 2024, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) handed mBridge over to its member countries, a move widely believed to be influenced by US pressure, although BIS has denied this.