Chainlink joins Microsoft, Banco Inter, and 7COMm to support second phase of Brazil’s CBDC pilot

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Key Takeaways

Chainlink, Microsoft, Banco Inter, and 7COMm are collaborating on Brazil’s DREX CBDC pilot to enhance trade finance with blockchain technology.
The initiative will demonstrate cross-border automated settlement using blockchain and Chainlink’s CCIP for CBDC interoperability.

Brazil’s central bank has picked Banco Inter, Microsoft Brazil, 7COMm, and Chainlink to develop a trade finance solution for the second phase of its DREX central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot project.

DREX aims to create a digital version of Brazil’s national currency, the real, facilitating secure and efficient financial transactions, particularly interbank settlements and other wholesale transactions.

The initial phase involved testing the digital currency through decentralized networks with 16 consortiums, primarily composed of banks.

The second phase, currently underway, focuses on implementing financial services through smart contracts managed by third-party participants on the DREX platform, enhancing transaction efficiency and automation. The Central Bank of Brazil selected Visa and Santander to advance to the second phase of its CBDC pilot in September.

The partnership formation is aimed at demonstrating automated settlement of agricultural commodity transactions across borders, platforms, and currencies using blockchain technology and oracles.

Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) will help facilitate interoperability between Brazil’s DREX and foreign central bank digital currencies. The pilot includes tokenizing Electronic Bills of Lading on-chain and utilizing supply chain data to trigger payments to exporters during shipping.

“Banco Inter sees Phase 2 of the DREX CBDC project as an exciting moment for Brazil,” said Bruno Grossi, Head of Emerging Technologies at Banco Inter. “We see collaborating on this project with technology leaders like Microsoft and Chainlink Labs as a transformative opportunity to expand market reach and improve the health of the Brazilian market.”

Angela Walker, Global Head of Banking and Capital Markets at Chainlink Labs, stated:

“We look forward to working with the Central Bank of Brazil, Banco Inter, and Microsoft to demonstrate how the adoption of blockchain technology combined with Chainlink’s interoperability protocol CCIP can transform trade finance.”

Microsoft will provide cloud services for the project while 7COMm will support technical implementation.

“Microsoft is providing technology to support the development of DREX that has been designed to not only broaden access to intelligent financial services but to play a key role in the development of the nation’s economy,” said João Aragão, innovation specialist for financial services at Microsoft.

“We are excited to work with the Central Bank of Brazil, Banco Inter, Microsoft, and Chainlink on this trade finance use case, which has the potential to boost the country’s economy,” said Sergio Yamani, Chief Innovation and New Business Development Officer at 7COMm.

Chainlink has enabled over $16 trillion in transaction value and delivered more than 15 billion onchain data points across the blockchain ecosystem.

Its CCIP has garnered trust from various prominent entities across different sectors, including Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, SWIFT, and Ronin Network, among others.