BIS-developed CBDC Platform Project mBridge Reaches the MVP Stage

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recently revealed that its multi-central bank CBDC platform, known as Project mBridge, has finished another stage of development. As such, the platform is ready to accept value-added products and new use cases. In other words, the platform reached the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage.

The History of Project mBridge

As the name suggests, the project aims to explore the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) platform, which is shared among multiple participating central banks, as well as some commercial banks.

The platform was built using distributed ledger technology, and its purpose is to allow for instant international payments and settlements.

Initially, the collaboration between all of these banks on the platform started in 2021. It included the Bank of Thailand, the BIS Innovation Hub, the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Furthermore, the Saudi Central Bank also decided to become a full participant at the Project mBridge, while 26 other members are currently only observing.

But, all of the mentioned central banks and other entities are backing the project, as they believe that a multi-CBDC arrangement can be struck to connect all of their different jurisdictions into a single common technical infrastructure. If they manage to do it, they could create a powerful alternative to the current banking system and enable immediate, cheap, and accessible cross-border payments.

Project mBridge’s True Potential

The blockchain on which the platform was created, known as the mBridge Ledger, is new, and it was specifically built to support real-time, P2P, international payments. About a year after the project was started, in 2022, the participants launched a pilot in which they conducted a real-value transaction.

The payment was made successfully, and ever since, the project’s team has been exploring ways to take the platform to the next level and help it evolve into an MVP. Now, they have finally reached this stage. Doing so was not easy, of course, and each of the four founders had to deploy a validating node.

Meanwhile, commercial banks have conducted additional real-value transfers in preparation for the MVP’s release. The project-steering committee decided to create a bespoke governance, legal framework, and a rulebook. This was specially made for the platform’s unique needs and decentralized nature.

Currently, the MVP platform can undertake real-value transactions and is compatible with the EVM. As such, it can act as a testbed for add-on technology solutions, additional use cases, and interoperability with different platforms. Also, with the project in the MVP stage, other companies from the private sector can also join the new solution and adopt it for its use cases, plus help develop the platform and test its potential.