UAE makes first $13.6M Digital Dirham CDBC Payment to China

The UAE makes its first cross-border digital Dirham transaction worth $13.6 million to China. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UAE Central Bank, made the transfer.

The cross-border transaction was conducted through the mBridge platform, an initiative and collaborative effort between the BIS Innovation Hub and the four founding central banks. The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, the Bank of Thailand, and over twenty-five advisory members were among these organizations.

The program aims to transform wholesale cross-border payments by utilizing a common framework for multiple central bank digital currencies (multi-CBDC) that is based on distributed ledger technology.

The project will thoroughly examine ineffectiveness-related factors, including price increases, sluggishness, and clarity concerns. Furthermore, ongoing challenges pertaining to safeguarding currency dominance and maintaining monetary and financial balance across all participating jurisdictions will be introduced.

This is the first Abu Dhabi bank to successfully complete a pilot initiative utilizing the Onyx blockchain developed by JPMorgan to facilitate cross-border transactions. China has also actively promoted the development of its e-CNY CBDC, which has resulted in the completion of the initial cross-border oil transaction and precious metals settlement.

But in the US, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump, and Ron DeSantis are among the contenders for president who have spoken out against CBDCs and even promised to outlaw them if elected. Republican Ron DeSantis withdrew from the presidential contest in early January.