Yesterday Bloomberg reported that the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is considering whether to shut down Project mBridge, the cross border CBDC payments platform developed in collaboration with the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the UAE. In June Saudi Arabia joined at the same time as mBridge launched as a minimum viable product. Bloomberg cited sources saying the topic was discussed at last week’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings. A concern is Russia’s ongoing enthusiasm for developing a similar sounding BRICS Bridge.
At a Group of 30 event in Washington on Saturday, BIS general manager Agustín Carstens was quoted as saying “we cannot directly support any project for the BRICS because we cannot operate with countries that are subject to sanctions — I want to be very clear about that.” Both Russia and Iran are BRICS+ members.
Update: The BIS has now confirmed handing over the project.
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