David Edwards
The Brazilian cryptocurrency market is poised for a new chapter as Bitso, Mercado Bitcoin, and Foxbit—three of the country’s largest crypto exchanges—team up to launch brl1, one of the first stablecoins pegged to the Brazilian real. This initiative marks a shift from traditional dollar-linked stablecoins, as Brazil seeks to tap into the growing potential of national currency-backed digital assets.
Scheduled for release later this year, brl1 aims to streamline transactions between local exchanges, allowing cryptocurrency trading without the need for fiat-based banking rails. Cainvest, a prominent liquidity provider, will manage brl1 trading pairs, initially focusing on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) but with plans to expand to more tokens.
Fabricio Tota, Mercado Bitcoin’s Director of New Business, emphasized brl1’s role in bridging the gap between the crypto industry and traditional banking. “When you introduce a real-pegged stablecoin with the backing of major players, it creates an opportunity to reach a broader user base,” he stated. In addition to retail investors, the project is expected to attract companies offering payment services, with several already expressing interest.
The stablecoin will be backed by Brazilian treasury bonds, with Fireblocks handling tokenization and custody. As these bonds generate yields, the consortium may offer returns to holders, potentially positioning brl1 as a yield-bearing stablecoin.
The initial issuance will be 10 million reales, with the goal of reaching a market cap of 100 million reales within the first year of operations.
