Bitcoin joins the digital real pilot program backed by the Central Bank of Brazil

The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB), the entity in charge of formulating monetary policies in the South American country, this week authorized the participation of Mercado Bitcoin, the exchange with the highest volume of operations at the local level, in the pilot program associated with the real digital (CBDC).

Originally, Mercado Bitcoin had not been selected as one of the 14 initial participants chosen by the BCB. However, after being properly licensed as a local payment institution earlier this month, the exchange now meets the regulatory requirements to be part of the pilot program.

It should be noted that Mercado Bitcoin has obtained a license to operate as a payment institution in Brazil, which allows it to offer services as an electronic money issuer. According to the company’s CEO, Roberto Dagnoni, this authorization is an important step to continue with business expansion plans and offer more options to customers.

Regarding the integration into the digital real pilot program, Fabricio Tota, director of the Mercado Bitcoin business area, commented the following:

“Our participation validates the intention of the Central Bank to introduce innovation in the financial system, by collaborating with those who are already working with this technology, and not only with the participants who have taken it over.”

The pilot program aims to test the digital real. At the end of May, the BCB announced the first 14 participants selected to be part of this program, including institutions such as Bradesco, Nubank, Banco do Brasil, Itaú Unibanco, the local B3 stock exchange, as well as companies multinationals Visa and Microsoft.

According to the BCB, around 36 proposals were received from more than 100 financial institutions interested in participating in the pilot program of the new digital real. The selected participants will begin to operate through the corresponding platform and will have a first operational contact with the new Brazilian digital currency.

More institutions are expected to apply to participate in the pilot program. If all goes according to plan, the Brazilian Central Bank is likely to implement the digital real sometime in 2024.

K. Tovar

Source: Diariobitcoin

(Reference image source: Raphael Nogueira, Unsplash)

Visit our news channel on Google News and follow us to get accurate, interesting information and stay up to date with everything. You can also see our daily content on Twitter and Instagram