The shift, seen as a major change in direction, will postpone the use of decentralized networks similar to those in cryptocurrencies—features that would have enabled programmable money, peer-to-peer lending, and other disintermediated financial transactions as originally envisioned.

The change in focus was first disclosed by BC Auditor Clarissa Souza during a panel at Blockchain Rio. Fabio Araujo, the BC’s Drex coordinator, later confirmed the move in an interview with Valor.

Mr. Araujo said the project will now be split into two timelines: one to deliver a service to the public in the short term without a decentralized network, and another to mature that technology over time. He explained that lien reconciliation will ensure an asset registered at a brokerage can be used as loan collateral, with all the different systems involved communicating with one another.

Originally, this was to be done using Hyperledger Besu, the DLT platform the BC chose in 2023 as Drex’s infrastructure. Besu is a permissioned protocol compatible with Ethereum smart contracts. The idea has now been shelved because developing all the needed solutions on that network proved unfeasible in the short term.

One of the biggest hurdles has been implementing a privacy solution for Drex within Hyperledger that preserves programmability and composability. Three tools were tested in the project’s first phase, with none fully satisfying the BC. Three more options emerged in the second phase.

Mr. Araujo said current privacy solutions are strong but require significant additional work, development, and adaptation before they can serve as the foundation for a decentralized financial system. “We found good privacy solutions, but apparently it’s not enough. We need to put this to the test,” he said.

Marcos Sarres, CEO of GoLedger—part of the Hyperledger Foundation—said there is no indication Hyperledger Besu will continue to be used when DLT returns to Drex’s roadmap. Mr. Sarres acknowledged that Besu was not ideal for the project due to its limitations.

“There are technologies already designed with privacy and scalability in mind—you don’t have to build them from scratch,” he said, citing Hyperledger Fabric as an example. Fabric recently upgraded to handle up to 200 million transactions per second, from 20 million previously. Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service already uses Hyperledger Fabric in its b-Cadastros database-sharing program.

The BC has yet to say what technology will power lien reconciliation for secured lending. Even members of the private-sector consortia currently testing Drex said they were surprised by the decision.

Marcos Viriato, CEO of Parfin—developer of one of Drex’s privacy solutions—suggested that asset transfers in the third phase could be processed through Brazil’s Pix instant payment system. “It’s like they’ve said before—they want integration with Pix,” he said.

At the end of July, the 16 private-sector consortia involved in Drex submitted reports on their tests of 13 tokenization use cases. The BC will release a comprehensive report on the second phase by October. It is unclear when the third phase—focused on collateralized lending—will begin, though it is expected later this year.

The tested use cases were far broader than what will now be delivered, including tokenized property sales. According to Araujo, DLT-dependent solutions will be discussed and developed in later phases, after lien reconciliation is in place.

The future involvement of the 16 current consortia is uncertain. Beyond technical challenges, Drex has also become a political flashpoint. The debate intensified when U.S. President Donald Trump backed legislation to bar the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC), prompting Brazilian politicians to criticize Drex.

Companies in the Drex pilot expressed surprise at the sharp shift but said it would not derail tokenization efforts in Brazil. João Canhada, founder of crypto exchange Foxbit, said the tokenization market was already advancing independently of Drex. “Yes, there would have been more opportunities if Drex had been rolled out as previously discussed. But today’s tokenization market is not anchored to what Drex will deliver in the future,” he said.

André Portilho, head of digital assets at BTG Pactual—also part of the pilot—called the BC’s phased approach “pragmatic and correct” as it keeps the project and long-term vision intact while matching implementation to technology maturity.

João Aragão, technology and financial services innovation specialist at Inter bank, said the bank tokenized soybean trades and implemented interoperability features in Drex’s second phase. He stressed that the experience was not lost with the change in direction. “We’re all moving toward [future] virtual asset service provider licenses and have other projects we want to roll out. We will continue working on tokenization,” he said.

In a statement, the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban) expressed confidence that the BC is developing Drex with the caution needed to meet efficiency, security, and stability requirements. “We remain firmly in the group supporting the creation of the Drex platform and are working within the ongoing Technical Cooperation Agreement,” it said.

*By Ricardo Bomfim, Valor — Rio de Janeiro

Source: Valor International

https://valorinternational.globo.com/