Brazil's financial infrastructure is integrating blockchain technology through a partnership between Ripple and CSD BR, announced September 29. The initiative will test whether distributed ledger technology improves transparency and efficiency within the country's regulated securities framework.
CSD BR, authorized by Brazil's Central Bank and securities regulator to register financial instruments and settle transactions, manages more than BRL 22 trillion in registered assets. The partnership's initial phase will mirror investment fund ownership records from Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual onto the public XRP Ledger, a blockchain maintained by Ripple's infrastructure.
How the Mirroring Model Works
CSD BR will retain its systems as the official ownership record while introducing a blockchain verification layer. Fund shares will be tokenized using the XRP Ledger's Multi-Purpose Token standard, which allows configurable rules for financial assets including restrictions on approved users and token freezing or recovery capabilities.
Participation will be limited to corporate and banking institutions in Brazil that complete identity verification and anti-money laundering procedures. CSD BR maintains control over issuance, participant authorization, and the ability to freeze individual assets or execute clawback functionality when regulatory or judicial orders require asset recovery.
Authorized participants will be able to verify the consistency of mirrored records in near real time. Current processes for investors, issuers, and other market participants will continue unchanged during this phase.
Potential Expansion
If the mirroring phase succeeds, future phases could include native issuance of instruments directly on the blockchain and authorized trading among approved participants. Instruments under consideration include real estate receivables certificates (CRI) and agribusiness receivables certificates (CRA), both forms of Brazilian fixed-income securities backed by sector-specific receivables.
The project builds on Ripple's broader institutional expansion in Brazil announced in March, which includes offerings in payments, custody, stablecoins, and treasury management services.
