Economy minister says Brazil will have its own CBDC

Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes has said that Brazil will issue its own central bank digital currency, or CBDC.

Guedes made the statement on Thursday during a ceremony celebrating the number of 100 millionth digital savings account opened at Caixa Econômica Federal:

“Now that the Central Bank is autonomous again, it’s also amazing in the digital dimension: Pix, OpenBank, fintechs and digital currency. Brazil will have its own digital currency. Brazil is ahead of many countries.”

This is the first time that the minister has spoken directly on the subject, although he has not provided any further details on the CBDC project being conducted by the central bank.