China’s Digital Yuan Goes Global as mBridge Transactions Surge Past $55B

Transactions on the China-backed mBridge cross-border payments pilot have surpassed US$55.5 billion (AU$84.9 billion), according to an Atlantic Council analysis, as participating central banks test an alternative to dollar-centric payment rails. 

The mBridge prototype, involving central banks from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, has now processed more than 4,000 cross-border transactions.

The total represents roughly a 2,500-fold increase since 2022 and estimates that the digital yuan accounts for about 95% of the platform’s volume.

Moreover, People’s Bank of China figures cited in the report show the e-CNY has processed more than 3.4 billion transactions worth about 16.7 trillion yuan, or roughly US$2.4 trillion (AU$3.6 trillion). That’s an increase of more than 800% from 2023. 

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China Offering Yield-Bearing Digital Yuan

China has also moved the digital yuan into a more deposit-like product by allowing it to bear interest, a break from the common view that CBDCs should not pay yield. 

The interest rate was aligned with demand deposit rates, around 0.05% at major banks at the time, and framed the change as a legal and policy signal that the e-CNY is shifting from “digital cash” toward deposit-style money with similar status and protections to bank deposits.

This contrasts with recent US policy debates that could restrict yield on stablecoins, prompting industry figures like Skybridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong to warn that limiting stablecoin rewards could make dollar-based digital rails less competitive internationally versus interest-bearing alternatives such as China’s e-CNY.

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