Drex (Digital Real / CBDC)

Drex began as a blockchain-based digital real but Brazil's central bank publicly abandoned the distributed ledger approach in August 2025 after concluding the technology 'did not prove viable' for their requirements. The project narrowed to streamlining collateral management and reconciling liens for credit guarantees.

The pivot is instructive: Brazil tried the fashionable technology, found it didn't solve their actual problem, and pragmatically changed course. The target is now financial market infrastructure — making it cheaper and faster to use assets as loan collateral — rather than a consumer-facing digital currency.

Drex builds on Pix's success but targets a different layer of the financial system. Where Pix solved retail payments, Drex aims to reduce friction in wholesale financial operations. Public launch is targeted for mid-2026.