Finance · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Saudi Arabia Exits China-Led mBridge After SAMA Ends Participation Following May 2025 Test
Saudi Arabia withdrew from mBridge after completing a May 2025 proof-of-concept. Saudi Central Bank confirmed cessation of participation, ending SAMA’s role in the CBDC platform.
Whether US pressure drove Saudi’s withdrawal.
6 of 9 outlets skipped it: US tariff threats are cited as deterrence to dollar alternatives..
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WION
“Riyadh did not clarify if the decision to withdraw had anything to do with US pressure.”Read the original ↗
WION stays non-committal on US motive, while Livemint stresses it would be inaccurate to infer US pressure.
Saudi exits mBridge
Saudi Arabia has exited China-led mBridge, a digital currency network led by Beijing, after the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) confirmed it stopped participating following a planned technical test in May 2025.
“Saudi Arabia left mBridge”
The withdrawal came after SAMA completed its mBridge proof-of-concept on May 13, 2025, and the central bank said the exit was “As planned” rather than a sudden policy shift.
mBridge is described as using blockchain technology so central banks can trade directly rather than through US dollar-dominated payment systems like SWIFT, and it is framed as an arena for advancing de-dollarization in cross-border payments.
Business Standard also reported that Saudi Arabia had joined mBridge as a full participant in 2024, after initially joining as an observer in 2023 under the BIS-led phase.
Pressure debate
Multiple outlets tied the exit to a broader debate over US pressure and dollar dominance, with a person familiar with the matter telling the Financial Times that it would be “inaccurate to draw any wider inference” from Riyadh’s withdrawal.
BigGo Finance reported that one source said Saudi Arabia no longer wished to participate publicly but continues to be involved in related work in a lower-profile manner, while another said Riyadh wanted to avoid public attention and US pressure.
The same BigGo Finance account said US President Donald Trump has publicly threatened 100% tariffs on BRICS nations if they pursue alternatives to the U.S. dollar, and it described that deterrent effect as extending to US allies considering participation in China-led financial infrastructure.
In parallel, Seoul Economic Daily said Daleep Singh, then deputy national security adviser for international economics at the White House, warned that China could wield “enormous influence” in setting platform standards on privacy, security, interoperability and enforcement of U.S. sanctions.
What’s at stake
The exit is portrayed as affecting mBridge’s footprint in the Middle East, with BigGo Finance saying Saudi Arabia’s exit “has notably shrunk the initiative's footprint in the Middle East.”
“has notably shrunk the initiative's footprint in the Middle East”
BigGo Finance also described the platform’s appeal as shortening foreign exchange transaction times, reducing transaction costs, and diminishing the role of the U.S. dollar as an intermediary currency, while warning that Washington views such systems as potentially bypassing the dollar-based SWIFT network.
Business Standard reported that the project was originally developed by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub along with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, the Digital Currency Institute of the People's Bank of China (PBoC), and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, BigGo Finance noted that the Bank for International Settlements had already exited mBridge in October 2024, and it said the consecutive departures raised questions about mBridge’s governance structure and political sensitivity.