Brazil’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), which was previously called the digital real, has been officially named Drex. The project’s logo has also been unveiled.
The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) announced the creation of an official brand for the state-owned digital currency. Now the asset’s official name is Drex. The term is an acronym:
- “d” and “r” symbolize the digital real;
- “e” stands for electronic;
- “x” conveys the idea of modernity and connection and the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT).
The BCB representatives also unveiled Drex’s brand logo and visual identity. The two arrows in the logo, placed in a capital letter, picture the evolution of the national fiat currency and its transition from the traditional to the digital version. The arrows’ colors show the completion of this transformation — the transition from blue, in which the entire inscription is executed, to light green.
The solution is planned to provide citizens and business representatives with a safe and regulated environment for the creation of new businesses and more democratic access to the benefits of digitalization of the economy.
Representatives of the Central Bank of Brazil announced plans to launch a digital currency pilot project in April 2022. The project was started in the fall 2022, with private service representatives involved in its study. During testing, an independent blockchain developer found functions in Drex that allow the regulator to freeze user funds or reduce balances at its discretion. Similar functions were found in the recently released PayPal (PYUSD) stablecoin, which caused concerns among the crypto community and the comparison with a CBDC.
