The project of a digital currency issued by the Central Bank (CBDC) is moving forward in Brazil. According to the National Federation of Associations of Central Bank Employees (Fenasbac), the digital real should only be issued in 2023.
Recently, rumors were that the digital real would be issued as early as 2022. However, the Central Bank of Brazil has stated that the project is expected to issue the first digital currencies only in the first half of next year.
Brazil’s CBDC will have its price pegged to the Brazilian real. Each digital real will have a value of R$ 1 in the market. Unlike crypto assets, the Brazilian CBDC will not be developed from blockchain technology.
Digital Real in 2023
Before the pilot launch of the digital real, the Central Bank created an idea accelerator program involving the CBDC, called Lift Challenge. The program selected some projects for presenting solutions involving the Brazilian digital currency.
The program started recently, and will develop activities until 2023, when the Central Bank of Brazil should officially launch the digital real. The idea is to create a pilot digital currency project next year, and its widespread adoption in the market should only happen in 2024.
Besides Brazil, other countries are working on CBDC projects, such as China. The Asian nation is at an advanced stage of testing the digital yuan, and more than US$ 14 billion worth of the digital currency has already been transacted in this launch period.
China’s CBDC is in the testing phase, with no official launch expected. More than 100 countries worldwide are developing their digital currency, such as Nigeria, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia.
Despite the move by central banks worldwide, some entities believe that stablecoins are better alternatives to CBDCs, as said the president of the Reserve Bank of Australia.
