Former Brazil central bank official unveils real-pegged stablecoin with yield sharing

Finance Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Former Brazil central bank official unveils real-pegged stablecoin with yield sharing The stablecoin will be backed by Brazil's National Treasury bonds and offer exposure to the country's interest rate, currently 15%. By Francisco Rodrigues | Edited by Sheldon Reback Jan 7, 2026, 2:14 p.m. Make us preferred on Google A former central bank official announced a Brazilian real-pegged stablecoin. (Rafaela Biazi/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk) What to know : Tony Volpon, a former director at Brazil's central bank, announced BRD, a stablecoin backed by Brazilian government debt, aiming to give foreign investors access to the country's high-yield environment. The stablecoin will be backed by Brazil's National Treasury bonds and offer exposure to the country's interest rates, currently 15%. The token could also support demand for Brazilian debt, potentially lowering government borrowing costs, and is expected to attract institutional investors seeking high-yield returns. Tony Volpon, a former director at the Central Bank of Brazil, unveiled BRD, a yield-sharing stablecoin tied to the Brazilian currency and backed by Brazilian government debt. Speaking on the “ Cripto na Real ” program on CNN Brasil, Volpon said the token will be backed by National Treasury bonds, linking its value to sovereign debt and aiming to give holders exposure to local interest rates. The central bank's benchmark interest rate is 15%, compared with the Federal Reserve's target of 3.5%-3.75%. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Volpon said the goal is to make Brazil’s high-yield environment more accessible to foreign investors. While Brazil’s interest rates have long drawn international attention, he said, access to these returns is often limited by regulation, currency friction and domestic infrastructure. “The ability to remunerate stablecoin holders with the interest rates offered by Brazil will obviously be a major draw, especially for institutional investors,” Volpon said during the program. The former central bank official also suggested that the stablecoin could support demand for the country's debt, potentially lowering borrowing costs by expanding the investor base. BRD will enter a market dominated by Transfero’s BRZ , which commands an $185 million market capitalization. Other competitors include BBRL , with a $51 million market cap, as well as smaller tokens BRL1 , which is backed by a group that includes Brazilian exchanges Mercado Bitcoin and Bitso, and the Celo blockchain-native cREAL . BRD is looking to distinguish itself as the first real-pegged token to explicitly structure the token to share the yield from the government debt backing with holders. It is not, however, alone. Brazilian startup Crown raised $13.5 million in a series A round led by Paradigm in December for a similar yield-bearing token, BRLV. That token, according to a website dedicated to it, has around $19 million worth of reals in circulation. The listed contract addresses show it has just two holders. Brazil Stablecoins Yield More For You KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market By CoinDesk Research Dec 22, 2025 Commissioned by KuCoin KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market. What to know : KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025 , equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month , marking its strongest year on record. This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume , as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes , which slowed during periods of lower market volatility. Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split , each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line. Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity , reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover. Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity , indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes. 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