PANews August 9 news, according to News.bitcoin citing local media reports, Brazil's central bank digital currency (CBDC) Drex will abandon most tokenization and blockchain technology, with plans to launch in 2026. Central Bank Drex project coordinator Fabio Araujo confirmed this change and stated that the new plan will be implemented in two phases: the first phase will not include decentralized elements and is expected to launch next year; the second phase will continue to implement and improve blockchain technology.
Due to the lack of programmability in the underlying architecture, implementing a centralized Drex means that many use cases tested in the two pilot phases will not be feasible. Additionally, it remains uncertain whether the project can continue to use Hyperledger Besu. Hyperledger Besu is an open-source, Ethereum-compatible blockchain platform solution that was chosen as the development platform for Drex as early as 2023.