Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank of Brazil, has hinted at a possible launch of the coin in 2024.
Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank of Brazil, stated that the Real Digital project, the digital currency of the Brazilian central bank (CBDC) could be launched in 2024. Campos Neto also commented on the benefits that the digital currency system could bring, since it is integrated with traditional financial structures and decentralized financial institutions (DeFi).
Roberto Campos Neto: Digital Real Possibly Ready in 2024
Brazil is one of the countries that has made significant progress in the field of central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the last year. While there is currently no official date for the issuance of the digital real, Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank of Brazil, has hinted at a possible launch of the coin in 2024.
At an event on December 13, Campos Neto said that “In 2024, I would like to have a release. There are still many challenges to get to this schedule, but this is our vision, our goal.”
Campos Neto believes that this is possible if the real digital test run begins and ends in 2023. However, he also acknowledges that there are many challenges on the roadmap that could delay the completion of the project.
Digital Real will integrate DeFi in Brazil
Campos Neto also referred to the integration of the digital real with other traditional and decentralized financial-based structures. One of the tasks that the bank is focusing on is the implementation of a model that includes the digital reality with Open Finance, a model that encourages sharing data, products, and services between regulated entities.
This would mean that Brazilians would only need one super app to manage all their financial instruments, including real digital tokenized bank deposits and also cryptocurrency holdings. It is not the first time that Campos Neto refers to this concept. In November, Campos Neto also referred to a super app that would encompass all the functionalities of traditional and legacy financial instruments in a common hub.
Finally, Campos Neto asserts that the programmable nature of the digital real will allow its integration with new structures that could unite payment systems such as Pix with Web3 ecosystems. In this regard, he stated the following:
“It is very important that it is programmable so that you can add new functionalities, in PIX, in theory, you can put a smart contract on top of it.”
It should be noted that in March, the country chose nine partners to collaborate in the development of the digital currency. When the CBDC is issued, Brazil will join the Bahamas, Nigeria, Eastern Caribbean, and Jamaica as the countries with their own CBDCs. Dozens of other countries are exploring the new technology, while some are more determined to start using one, as a risk-free alternative to cryptocurrencies, after the FTX exchange bankruptcy rocked the entire industry.
By Audy Castaneda
