Mercado Bitcoin, Stellar Team on CBDC Project

Latin American exchange Mercado Bitcoin is teaming with the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) on one of the nine projects in the LIFT Challenge Real Digital, a collaborative environment hosted by the Central Bank of Brazil and the National Federation of Associations of Central Bank Servers.

The projects will explore use cases for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the region. Joining SDF in the LIFT Challenge are CPQD and ClearSale, according to a Tuesday (May 24) press release. The Central Bank of Brazil is aiming to pick out infrastructure characteristics for Real Digital that will support the use cases presented during the event.

The Real Digital will likely be launched in the second half of 2022 and be piloted for a restricted audience in its first phase.

“We are in a consortium of companies that have the structure and ambition to build robust solutions for the financial market through blockchain technology,” said Reinaldo Rabelo, CEO of Mercado Bitcoin, in the press release. “Utilizing the Stellar network will allow us to deliver a complete case for evaluation by the Central Bank.”

SDF is a non-profit organization focused on unlocking global economic potential, making money more fluid, markets more open and people more empowered, the company press release said.

“As SDF partners with Mercado Bitcoin in the LIFT Challenge Real Digital, the Stellar ecosystem grows stronger,” said Denelle Dixon, CEO of SDF. “Stellar’s network is prepared to support Mercado Bitcoin and the Central Bank of Brazil as they explore use cases for the Real Digital’s future.”

More here: Mercado Bitcoin Raises $200 Million; South Africa Moves For Stricter Crypto Regulations

In July, Mercado Bitcoin raised $200 million in a Series B funding round from the SoftBank Latin America fund to boost its scale, add more offerings and invest in infrastructure in order to match the new demand for cryptocurrency.