Brazil's digital currency pilot will begin in the second half of the year

Brazil’s central bank governor, Roberto Campos Neto, said a pilot project for Brazil’s digital currency should be implemented in the second half of this year. Open finance, an extended version of open banking, will reduce information asymmetry and lower banks' interest rate spreads.

Brazil’s banking penetration has grown due to the emergence of the payment system PIX, but it highlights the negative impact of a data breach in the PIX instant payment system.

Neto said that he does not like the term "cryptocurrency" because "cryptocurrency" does not have the characteristics of money, it has the characteristics of assets.

Talking about the platform is more important than talking about the asset itself when it comes to crypto assets, which are very beneficial to the financial system in the future.   In addition, in response to the new foreign exchange framework approved at the end of last year, Neto said that the monetary authority will issue specific regulations within 12 months. He also said the central bank would hold a sustainability-related event in May and hoped to make progress on the carbon market.