Central Bank of Brazil Confirms It Will Run a Pilot Test for Its CBDC This Year

The Central Bank of Brazil has confirmed that the institution will run a pilot test regarding the implementation of its proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital real. Roberto Campos Neto, president of the bank, also stated that this new test will include a fixed supply of the mentioned token, and detailed this pilot will be executed during the last six months of this year.

Central Bank of Brazil Advances CBDC Project

The Central Bank of Brazil has offered details about the advancements it has made regarding its CBDC project, the digital real. Its president, Roberto Campos Neto, hinted at an unspecified test involving the usage of the currency during the final six months of this year. At an event, he declared:

This is a way to create currency digitization without creating a break in bank balance sheets. This project should have some kind of pilot in the second half of the year.

Campos Neto also gave hints about the way in which this currency will be used, saying it will be linked to the reserve transference system, a kind of fiat-based payments system. With this pilot program, Brazil could advance to the vanguard of countries that have CBDC programs in South America.

Campos Neto also offered his take regarding the state of the cryptocurrency market in Brazil. He explained that cryptocurrencies are viewed more as investment assets than as a payment method. However, this could change as more adoption is achieved globally and locally.

Path to a CBDC and Regulatory Panorama

The Central Bank of Brazil has been advancing with its digital real project since last year when it redacted the guidelines that a Brazilian CBDC would have to follow, and announced it was still studying and debating the possibility of the issuance of such a currency.

However, in March, the institution selected nine institutions out of 47 proposals that will be able to produce projects designed to present the opportunities that a hypothetical digital real might offer in different sectors.

Brazil has also been making advancements when it comes to legislating to approve a unified cryptocurrency legal framework. In this sense, deputies and senators have declared they will combine several proposals into one that will be presented to the Brazilian Congress. The rapporteurs of these initiatives expect this new hybrid proposal to be approved in the next months.