Brazil May Launch Defi-Integrated Digital Real in 2024

In the last year, Brazil has made significant advances in the field of central bank digital currency (CBDC). While there is no official date for the issuance of the digital real, Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank of Brazil, has hinted that the currency could be launched in 2024. Campos Neto stated at a Dec. 13 event:

In 2024, I would like to have a release. There are still many challenges to reach this schedule, but this is our vision, our goal.

Campos Neto believes this is feasible if the digital real’s test-trial run begins in 2023 and ends the same year. However, he recognizes that there are numerous challenges on the roadmap that could cause the project to be delayed.

In Brazil, Digital Real will integrate Defi

Campos Neto also mentioned the digital real’s integration with other traditional and decentralised finance-based structures. One of the tasks that the bank is focusing on is the implementation of a model that combines the digital real with Open Finance, a model that promotes data, product, and service sharing among regulated entities.

This would imply that Brazilians would only require a single app to manage all of their financial assets, including digital real, tokenized banking deposits, and cryptocurrency holdings. This is not the first time Campos Neto has mentioned this concept. Back in November, Campos Neto mentioned a super app that would incorporate all of the functions of traditional and legacy financial instruments.

Finally, Campos Neto claims that the digital real’s programmable nature will enable its integration with new structures that could connect payment systems like Pix with Web3 ecosystems. On this, he stated:

“It is very important for it to be programmable so that you can add new functionalities, in PIX, in theory, you can put a smart contract on top of it.”