The Central Bank of Brazil has selected 14 entities, including Visa and Microsoft, for its digital real CBDC pilot programme. The upcoming pilot project will include the participation of both national and global companies such as Itau Unibanco, Bradesco, local stock exchange B3, Nubank, and Banco do Brasil.

The central bank published the final list of CBDC pilot participants on 24 May 2023, and entities will be added to the digital real platform around the middle of June 2023. Participants were chosen from a pool of 36 bids made by single companies and consortia. While the final number of participants is 14, some participants represent groups of companies, including Microsoft and digital technology company 7COMm.

Visa, Santander, and several Brazilian banking institutions will also take part in the pilot programme. The current phase of the digital real pilot will focus on testing the privacy and programmability functionalities of the platform through a single use case, namely a delivery versus payment protocol for federal public securities. Public use of the digital real According to thecoinrepublic.com, the CBDC will become available for public use by the end of 2024.

That’s because the project will need to go through an extensive testing phase that will involve the buying and selling of federal public bonds among individuals. The digital real will leverage distributed ledger technology (DLT) and will be fully supported by the Central Bank of Brazil and the Brazilian Monetary Authority. Furthermore, the CBDC will represent of extension of traditional currency and will have the same value as traditional real.

Other CBDC efforts around the world Several other countries from all over the world are working on their own central bank digital currencies, including China, the UAE, Russia, and potentially Canada. In March 2023, the Central Bank of UAE has revealed its plans to complete the first phase of its central bank digital currency project in mid-2024. This new CBDC strategy will include bilateral ties with an Asian country as well as the launch of a proof-of-concept for CBDC issuance.

The strategy will include three separate phases that will facilitate the launch of the digital dirham. Canada also launched a public consultation in May 2023 that aims to assess how a digital dollar would fit into the Canadian economy. The move indicates that Canada is also considering the launch of a central bank digital currency as more and more countries are ramping up their efforts in this space.

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