Project mBridge multi-CBDC platform developed by PBOC HKMA Bank of Thailand CBUAE and Saudi Central Bank has settled over $55.49 billion - 2,500-fold increase from 2022 pilots. China's e-CNY accounts for 95.3 percent of mBridge settlement volume. PBOC implemented new January 1 2026 governance framework transitioning e-CNY to digital deposit money. BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens distanced BIS from mBridge and shifted to Project Agorá with Western central banks. mBridge operates under centralised governance with sovereign-controlled transaction data under PBOC access. Irregular Warfare Journal documented March 2026 that adopting China's digital yuan is akin to outsourcing economic master keys with China retaining system administrator status and ability to shut down the network. PBOC 2026 priorities include expanded energy trade settlement in corridors where Gulf sovereign monetary exposure is deepest. No mBridge governance document specifies constitutional command override architecture that allows participating central banks to exercise sovereign control over monetary decisions independently of PBOC system administrator access.
Read paper: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21129405
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