Drex changes course: first delivery without blockchain, a focus on liens, and what it means for payments
The first version of Drex, expected for the second half of 2026, will have no distributed ledger technology and no tokenization. Pix and stablecoins stay as they are.
Historical reference: August 20, 2025. Published on this site on November 2, 2026. Dates in the text identify the period covered.
In this article
Key points
- The Drex coordinator at the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) said, in statements reported on August 7, 2025, that the first delivery, expected for the second half of 2026, will use neither blockchain nor tokenization.
- The focus shifts to lien reconciliation: recording, in one place, that an asset has been pledged as collateral for credit.
- The central reason is privacy: the solutions tested on the Hyperledger Besu network were not enough to keep the network programmable and confidential at the same time.
- Drex was never an international payment method. Pix, SWIFT and stablecoins follow the same paths as before.
Brasília, August 20, 2025 — Drex, the platform the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) presented as the next stage of Brazilian digital money, has changed course. In an interview with Valor Econômico and at the Blockchain Rio event, reported on August 7, the project coordinator at the BCB, Fabio Araujo, said the first delivery will do without distributed ledger technology (DLT, the basis of blockchain) and concentrate on a simpler task: lien reconciliation.
- Pilot consortia that delivered test reports to the BCB at the end of July
- 16
- Deadline for the first delivery, with no DLT and no tokenization
- 2H 2026
- Tokenization use cases described in those reports
- 13
- Consolidated report on the second phase of the pilot
- Oct 2025
What the Central Bank changed
Since 2023, the Central Bank has been testing Drex in a pilot with consortia of banks, payment institutions and cooperatives, on the Hyperledger Besu network, a restricted-access DLT that runs smart contracts compatible with Ethereum. The first phase tested tokenized government bonds, bank reserves and deposits, and its report came out in February 2025.
The change applies to the next delivery. According to Valor, as reported by Seu Dinheiro and Jornal Contábil, the BCB splits the project into two horizons: in the short term, a solution without DLT, with a launch expected for the second half of 2026; in the long term, the maturing of DLT and privacy technologies.
- 2023Start of the project, with the Hyperledger Besu network as the testing platform.
- 2023 and 2024First phase of the pilot, with tokenized government bonds, reserves and deposits. The report comes out in February 2025.
- End of Jul 2025The 16 consortia deliver second-phase reports, with 13 tokenization use cases.
- Aug 7, 2025News emerges that the next delivery will have no blockchain. The decision surprises the consortia.
- Oct 2025Consolidated report on the second phase of the pilot.
- 2H 2026First version of Drex, focused on liens.
What lien reconciliation is
A lien (gravame, in Portuguese) is the record that a good or asset has been pledged as collateral for a loan. Araujo gave an example: a client has an asset that is theirs, but pledged it as collateral in a transaction. Today this is hard, because the asset is usually registered with a brokerage or depository and the loan is made at a bank. The information systems do not talk to each other.
The new tool will connect these systems, so that the same asset can serve as collateral without the risk of being pledged twice and without the client having to move it. It is credit infrastructure, behind the scenes. It is not a digital wallet or a currency that the public buys.
Why the BCB changed course
We found good privacy solutions, but apparently that is not enough.
Fabio Araujo, Drex coordinator at the Central Bank of Brazil, according to Valor Econômico (via Seu Dinheiro, Aug 7, 2025)
The main obstacle was technical. The BCB had difficulty building, on Hyperledger Besu, a privacy layer that kept the network programmable. Three tools tested in the first phase did not fully meet the need, and three others that emerged in the second phase still need development. In a financial system, automatic and irreversible transactions require bank secrecy and data protection.
Seu Dinheiro also records the political context: President Donald Trump's support for a bill that would prevent the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank digital currency fueled, in Brazil, the argument that Drex would be an instrument of financial control. The BCB denies this and says the changes are technical.
The BCB says it has not discarded DLT, only postponed it. According to Jornal Contábil, the third phase of the pilot, focused on credit collateralization, should start still in 2025, and the staggered deliveries are inspired by Pix's evolution agenda.
What this means for payments
Drex was never designed to pay a supplier in another country. Even in the retail version tested in the pilot, the goal was to allow programmable contracts between Brazilian institutions. With the new stage, the practical effect for those who pay and receive today is small:
| Topic | Before the announcement | After |
|---|---|---|
| Pix | Instant payment method in reais | No change. New features follow their own agenda, such as Pix Automático |
| Tokenization for the public | Planned for future phases, through banks | Outside the first delivery, which will have no tokenization |
| Asset tokenization | Use cases tested in the consortia | Postponed to the second stage |
| International payment | Via bank, SWIFT or stablecoins | No change. Drex does not cover this case |
Stablecoins, for their part, follow their path through another channel: the regulation of virtual asset service providers, which the BCB began with public consultations in November 2024, as shown in the coverage of the consultations. For a view of the currencies pegged to the real, see real stablecoins: BRZ and BRLA, which also explains the difference from Drex.
What is worth following is the October report and the definition of the technology that will do the reconciliation. The BCB has not yet said which it will be, and that is the point that most surprised those taking part in the tests.
Frequently asked questions
Was Drex canceled?
No. The Central Bank changed the first delivery, expected for the second half of 2026: it will use neither blockchain nor tokenization and will concentrate on lien reconciliation. Distributed ledger technology was postponed to a later stage, according to the project coordinator.
What is Drex?
It is the financial infrastructure platform that the Central Bank has been testing since 2023, with banks and payment institutions. The original idea was to use a distributed ledger network to tokenize assets and allow programmable contracts.
Will Drex replace Pix?
No. Pix is the instant payment method in reais and continues to evolve on its own agenda. Drex deals with another layer, the infrastructure for assets, collateral and credit, and is not a payment method for the public.
Can Drex be used to pay suppliers abroad?
No. The project was not designed for international payments. Those who pay suppliers outside the country continue to use banks, foreign exchange or, when the supplier accepts them, stablecoins such as USDT.
Found it useful? Share it with anyone who pays suppliers abroad.
Sources
- Drex abandonará blockchain na próxima fase para entregar solução em 2026, diz jornal · Seu Dinheiro, Aug 7, 2025
- Projeto do Drex passará por mudanças e adiará uso de tecnologia DLT · Jornal Contábil, Aug 7, 2025
- Relatório Drex: Piloto, Fase 1 · Banco Central do Brasil
For information only, not investment advice. Third-party brands mentioned belong to their owners; the mention is journalistic and does not indicate a partnership or relationship with Swapo Finance.
International payments with the speed of Pix and Central Bank rules.
Convert reais into USDT and send it to your supplier on the TRON network. One fee shown upfront, asset segregation policy, human support. Virtual assets have no FGC coverage; authorization application filed with the BCB.
