mBridge：距離石油美元和比特幣的終結又更近了一步

國際清算銀行（BIS）以及中國、香港、泰國和阿拉伯聯合大公國的中央銀行一直在努力

Saudi Arabia has joined the new international payment system project mBridge, a step closer to the end of the petrodollar and bitcoin…

沙烏地阿拉伯加入新的國際支付系統計畫mBridge，距離石油美元和比特幣的終結又更近了一步…

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates have been working on the mBridge project for over three years.

國際清算銀行 (BIS) 以及中國、香港、泰國和阿拉伯聯合大公國的中央銀行已經就 mBridge 計畫開展了三年多的工作。

It is an international payment system using central bank digital currencies (CBDC). China is the chief architect of this project which could rival the SWIFT network.

它是使用中央銀行數位貨幣（CBDC）的國際支付系統。中國是這個可以與SWIFT網路相媲美的專案的總設計師。

At its core is a blockchain enabling instant cross-border payments via so-called atomic payments as well as foreign exchange operations.

其核心是區塊鏈，可透過所謂的原子支付以及外匯操作實現即時跨境支付。

The term atomic simply means that, similar to bitcoin, the payments are irreversible. They do not depend on a financial maze that can take several days to confirm a payment. Either the payment is instantaneous, or it does not happen.

原子一詞的意思是，與比特幣類似，支付是不可逆轉的。他們不依賴可能需要幾天才能確認付款的財務迷宮。付款要么是即時的，要么不會發生。

Transactions are conducted through the “HotStuff” consensus mechanism. This same mechanism was to be used by Facebook’s Libra project and is used by Ethereum for its Staking protocol. It is essentially an alternative to Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work mechanism. The Dashing protocol is also under consideration.

交易透過「HotStuff」共識機制進行。 Facebook 的 Libra 專案使用了相同的機制，以太坊也將其用於 Stake 協定。它本質上是比特幣工作量證明機制的替代方案。 Dashing 協議也在考慮之中。

MBridge recently reached a significant milestone with the completion of its prototype and Saudi Arabia’s decision to join the project. According to BIS, the four central banks each deployed a validation node, and a few commercial banks have already conducted test transactions. The Chinese giant Tencent has been involved since September 2023. The firm participates in validating use cases for cross-border payments as well as in the development of the platform.

隨著原型的完成以及沙烏地阿拉伯決定加入該項目，Mbridge 最近達到了一個重要的里程碑。據BIS稱，四家央行各自部署了一個驗證節點，一些商業銀行已經進行了測試交易。中國巨頭騰訊自 2023 年 9 月以來一直參與其中。

The kingdom’s integration into the BRICS club is far from trivial. Member countries are clearly expressing their intention to purge the dollar from their exchanges. The arrival of the Saudis could mean that Saudi oil exports to China could one day be conducted via the mBridge blockchain, in yuan.

沙烏地融入金磚國傢俱樂部絕非易事。成員國明確表示打算將美元從交易所中剔除。沙烏地人的到來可能意味著有一天沙烏地阿拉伯向中國的石油出口可以透過 mBridge 區塊鏈以人民幣進行。

Let’s recall that Chinese President Xi Jinping called in November 2022 from Riyadh for Gulf countries to accept the Chinese yuan in payment. Another unmistakable sign is that the central banks of both countries recently signed a currency swap agreement worth 50 billion yuan ($7 billion) in November 2023.

讓我們回想一下，中國國家主席習近平於 2022 年 11 月從利雅德呼籲海灣國家接受人民幣付款。另一個明顯的跡像是，兩國央行最近在 2023 年 11 月簽署了價值 500 億元人民幣（70 億美元）的貨幣互換協議。

But who knows what the United States might decide to do if the petrodollar is abandoned? Is it a coincidence that the American TV channel CBS has just resurrected accusations of Saudi government complicity in the September 11, 2001 attacks? Is it also a coincidence that the Saudi Defense Minister visited China this week?

但誰知道如果放棄石油美元美國會決定做什麼？美國電視頻道 CBS 剛剛重新指控沙烏地阿拉伯政府參與了 2001 年 9 月 11 日的襲擊事件，這難道是巧合嗎？沙烏地阿拉伯國防部長本週訪華也是巧合嗎？

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and the People’s Bank of China also signed an agreement to renew a currency swap to enhance cooperation in the development of central bank digital currencies.

阿聯酋中央銀行與中國人民銀行也簽署了續簽貨幣互換協議，以加強央行數位貨幣開發合作。

These maneuvers must be viewed in parallel with Vladimir Putin’s statements at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum:

這些策略必須與弗拉基米爾·普丁在聖彼得堡經濟論壇上的聲明同時看待：

“The BRICS countries are working on their own payment system, free from political pressures, abuses… and external interference.”

“金磚國家正在開發自己的支付系統，不受政治壓力、濫用…和外部干涉。”

It is highly likely that the Russian president is referring to mBridge here. The Russian central bank already has its own CBDC.

俄羅斯總統很可能在這裡指的是mBridge。俄羅斯央行已經擁有自己的 CBDC。

Will the mBridge payment system support the dollar? For now, the dollar does not exist in CBDC form. Donald Trump, moreover, has stated that there will be no CBDC if he is elected.

mBridge支付系統支援美元嗎？目前，美元尚不以 CBDC 形式存在。此外，唐納德·川普表示，如果他當選，將不會有 CBDC。

However, here is what we can read on the website of the American central bank:

然而，我們可以在美國中央銀行的網站上看到以下內容：

“Although the Federal Reserve has made no decision on whether to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), we have been exploring the potential benefits and risks of CBDCs from various angles, including through technological research and experimentation.”

“儘管聯準會尚未決定是否發行央行數位貨幣（CBDC），但我們一直在從各個角度探索CBDC的潛在好處和風險，包括透過技術研究和實驗。”

Furthermore, it should be noted that the BIS – which oversees the mBridge project – is an institution with Western allegiance based in Switzerland. Not to mention that the IMF, ECB, and New York Fed are among the “observer members”.

此外，應該指出的是，負責監督 mBridge 計畫的國際清算銀行是一家總部位於瑞士、受西方效忠的機構。更不用說國際貨幣基金組織、歐洲央行和紐約聯邦儲備銀行都是「觀察員成員」。

Christine Lagarde stated on June 24 that the ECB has made “significant progress to be ready to issue a digital euro, if necessary”.

克里斯蒂娜·拉加德 (Christine Lagarde) 6 月 24 日表示，歐洲央行「在必要時準備發行數位歐元方面已取得重大進展」。

Finally, all this must be placed in the context of political tensions that unfortunately remain vivid. An escalation of sanctions could lead to the disconnection of other countries from the SWIFT network and further freezing of foreign exchange reserves. The mBridge network could then become a fallback option.

最後，所有這一切都必須放在政治緊張局勢的背景下，不幸的是，這種緊張局勢仍然很明顯。制裁升級可能導致其他國家與 SWIFT 網路斷開並進一步凍結外匯存底。 mBridge 網路可能會成為後備選項。

The fallback plan that has proven itself for over 15 years is obviously bitcoin…

15 年來證明自己的後備計畫顯然是比特幣…

Bitcoin is both a currency and a payment network, two-in-one. It is also a neutral and stateless store of value. No nation can use it as a geopolitical weapon.

比特幣既是一種貨幣，也是一種支付網絡，二合一。它也是一種中立且無狀態的價值儲存手段。任何國家都不能將其用作地緣政治武器。

Here is the opinion of Michael Saylor on the subject:

以下是邁克爾·塞勒 (Michael Saylor) 對這個問題的看法：

“The global banking system is linked to a fiat asset, the dollar, which is collapsing by 7 to 10% per year and is overseen by the Fed. That doesn’t mean banks are bad in themselves. The problem is we have a single toxic asset [the dollar]. An asset that is fragile because it is centralized. Imagine a world where 50,000 banks use bitcoin with P2P settlements with each other

「全球銀行體系與法定資產美元掛鉤，美元每年貶值 7% 至 10%，並受到聯準會的監管。這並不意味著銀行本身就不好。問題是我們只有一種有毒資產[美元]。資產由於中心化而脆弱。想像一個世界，50,000 家銀行使用比特幣進行 P2P 相互結算