Central Bank of Brazil to launch digital currency

The Central Bank of Brazil, Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), has launched a roadmap of the events leading to the rollout of a digital currency in Brazil which will include the launch of tokenized assets.

The digital real platform development will include a series of monthly webinars and events will be held until year end with a view to bring together the bank with fintech experts and partners. During a series of monthly webinars, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will be discussed and the plans are that this will lead to its implementation.

Pilot for digital currency at advanced stage

The rollout of the project is scheduled for early next year. The Central Bank has announced a number of working groups that include high profile prestigious corporate partners such as Nubank, Brazil’s most successful fintech bank. The consortium has also extended an invitation to a number of top notch cryptocurrency firms and digital currency platforms.

I think that this digitized, paid-in, integrated system, with inclusion, will help a lot in the development and inclusion of people in the financial world. Greater inclusion, lower cost, intermediation, competition with reduced barriers to entry, efficiency in risk control, monetization of data, complete tokenization of financial assets and contracts. This is what we see in this digital economy in Brazil.” Roberto Campos Neto, President – Banco Central do Brasil

The scope of the taskforce will be to come up with a legal framework for tokenization that will be added to the current financial services regulatory framework. Discussion forums with other regulators and business leaders are also on the agenda. The events and webinars will be attended by significant stakeholders such as academics, industry insiders, regulators and international organisations.

Digital fiat will be launched in 2024

BCB says that a digital fiat will be launched by 2024 following the conclusion of the pilot. Brazil’s token pledges to foster new business and local start ups in the financial services sector. The characteristics of Brazil’s digital currency will set it apart from other CBDC projects by other central banks that focus primarily on retail markets.

Once Brazil’s CBDC is issued, it will join other countries such as Bahamas, Nigeria, Eastern Caribbean and Jamaica that have already issued their own CBDCs. Most countries today are exploring emerging technology to develop the best solution for financial digitization that will offer a risk-free alternative to cryptocurrencies.