**Brazil Integrates DeFi in CBDC Development**

Brazil is making strides in digital finance by integrating decentralized finance (DeFi) principles into its synthetic central bank digital currency (CBDC), Drex, formerly known as the digital Brazilian real. On Oct. 3, Banco Central do Brasil President Roberto Campos Neto emphasized the need for a multidimensional CBDC to tackle decentralization, privacy, and programmability challenges.

Key Points:

- Brazil aims to incorporate tokenization into banks' balance sheets.

- The Open Finance platform will accelerate nationwide tokenization, offering users diverse banking and payment options, including CBDCs.

- The second phase of the CBDC pilot focuses on digital asset transactions and extends into 2025.

In parallel, private firms are enhancing digital payment solutions. Ripple has partnered with Mercado Bitcoin to enable faster, cheaper cross-border crypto payments for Brazilian businesses, promising 24/7 service and quick settlements.