According to Odaily, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has announced that the mBridge project has entered the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage. The project team will continue to optimize various aspects of the platform and further increase participation from public and private institutions. The mBridge project aims to explore the application of central bank digital currencies and innovative solutions to address current pain points in cross-border payments.
The MVP platform is highly compatible and can serve as a testing base to explore more technical solutions, new use cases, and interoperability with other platforms. Private institutions are encouraged to submit their solutions and use case suggestions. As of June, five local commercial banks have connected to the mBridge platform and participated in the MVP stage. These include Bank of China Hong Kong, Bank of Communications Hong Kong Branch, ICBC Asia, Standard Chartered Hong Kong, and HSBC. The authority anticipates more banks will join the platform in the future.
In addition, the HKMA and the project team welcome the Saudi Central Bank as a full participant in the mBridge MVP platform. There are currently 26 observer members, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and several central banks worldwide. Observer members hold regular meetings to understand the project's progress, experience, and development, and can test through the sandbox to better understand the platform's functions.
HKMA President Yu Weiwen stated that the mBridge project is the most mature research project on 'multiple central bank digital currencies' under the International Settlement Bank's innovation hub. He sincerely invites other central banks to participate, whether as users or co-developers.