The pilot connected Brazil’s Drex central bank digital currency network and Hong Kong’s Ensemble finance platform, showcasing real-time cross-border settlement with blockchain smart contracts.
Banco Inter and Chainlink conducted a landmark blockchain pilot linking Brazil’s Drex network with Hong Kong’s Ensemble platform to settle cross-border trade in real time using central bank digital currencies and smart contracts. The initiative, part of Phase 2 of Brazil’s Drex project, enabled interoperability across jurisdictions for automated delivery-versus-payment (DvP), payment-versus-payment (PvP), and conditional installment transactions. Participants included Brazil’s and Hong Kong’s central banks, Standard Chartered, Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), and 7COMm, with GSBN updating electronic bills of lading during payments. The project aims to reduce settlement risk, lower costs, and increase trade finance inclusion, with plans to expand to more trade models and institutions.