The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) is making significant strides in the development of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) framework through a collaborative effort with Banco Inter, Microsoft Brazil, 7COMm, and Chainlink. This partnership, as announced on Nov. 19, is aimed at supporting trade finance solutions in the second phase of Brazil’s DREX pilot program. The focus of this phase will be on automating cross-border settlements for commodity transactions utilizing blockchain technology and oracles.
Chainlink, a key player in the partnership, will be leveraging its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) to enable seamless interactions between Brazil’s DREX platform and foreign central banks. The initiative will involve tokenizing an Electronic Bill of Lading (eBOL) and integrating supply chain data to automate payments. This data-driven approach will ensure that exporters receive payment at various stages of the shipping process.
The pilot project aims to demonstrate how blockchain-based trade finance can facilitate Delivery versus Payment (DvP) and Payment versus Payment (PvP) mechanisms, ultimately enhancing efficiency, security, and transparency in the global supply chain, particularly within the agricultural commodities sector. Banco Inter is spearheading the implementation of the DREX platform in Brazil, while Microsoft Brazil and 7COMm are providing cloud services and technical support. Chainlink’s CCIP infrastructure will play a crucial role in facilitating cross-chain transfers for DREX and other CBDCs.
Bruno Grossi, head of emerging technologies at Banco Inter, emphasized the potential of the project to expand market access and bolster Brazil’s economic landscape. Microsoft Brazil expressed its commitment to broadening access to intelligent financial services and contributing to the nation’s economic development. Angela Walker, the Global Head of Banking and Capital Markets at Chainlink Labs, highlighted the transformative impact of the pilot on trade finance, showcasing how tokenized assets can unlock new CBDC applications in Brazil.
Walker stated, “Chainlink CCIP is essential to enabling secure cross-border, cross-currency, and cross-chain transactions and will help showcase what tokenized assets can do at scale for this key CBDC use case in Brazil.”
The collaboration between the Central Bank of Brazil, Banco Inter, Microsoft Brazil, 7COMm, and Chainlink represents a significant step forward in advancing CBDC technology in Brazil. This cross-chain pilot project demonstrates the potential for blockchain technology to revolutionize trade finance and drive economic growth in the region.