This Thursday (20) the first units of Real Digital, the digital currency of the Central Bank (CBDC) of Brazil, began to be produced. The news was revealed by Ronaldo Lemos in a report for the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. According to the columnist, the first CBDCs will be issued in a test environment, at LIFT (Financial and Technological Innovations Laboratory).

The units that are created are of the stablecoin type, which has a 1:1 parity with the real. This modality is often used as an intermediary currency when trading other cryptocurrencies that have greater volatility. The idea is to create a parallel version of fiat currency in the digital environment, supported by the Central Bank. 

One of the reasons for the Central Bank to create the stablecoin is to use the security of the blockchain network for contracts. The technology allows transactions to be recorded on thousands of computers in a decentralized way, reducing the likelihood of fraud and scams.

Another benefit of using the digital real is the creation of digital wallets, which are changing the way digital accounts are used through Open Finance – which aims to manage all users' banking information on a single platform. Last Tuesday, several Brazilian banks started allowing Pix with different account balances.

The creation of a state-controlled digital currency, a global trend, has been tested in countries such as China, France, Nigeria, Uruguay and Canada, which are already more advanced. Most seek efficiency for instant payments and transfers.

In the case of Brazil, the type of agility has already been achieved with the successful Pix, changing the Central Bank's objectives with the project. According to the director of business strategy at Accentures, Eliseu Tudisco, digital reality tends to accelerate the replacement of physical money, increase formality in business and help with tasks such as tax collection and combating money laundering. 

Tudisco also mentions that a government-controlled currency has more stability, which makes investment in innovation safer and can leverage financial services through decentralized finance (DeFi).

People will be able to offer services such as loans without the intermediation of a financial institution, as the agreement would be determined by codes created in the currency itself. As a main consequence, financial institutions would be forced to improve their services, thus increasing competitiveness in the market.

According to Lemos, from the first issuance of these CBDCs, the Real Digital network will be inaugurated, as it will no longer be offline – thus, making the development of digital currency official. The test network will already connect Brazil's CBDC to smart contracts, DeFi and NFTs ecosystems.

The columnist also highlights that the project will allow the internationalization of Brazilian currency, as citizens will be able to use the digital real when traveling abroad or for international purchases without having to convert the values to dollars, euros, etc.

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