Brazil and Hong Kong Launch Blockchain Trade Pilot Using Chainlink

• Banco Inter, Chainlink, Central Bank of Brazil, and Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) collaborated on a cross-border blockchain trade finance pilot
• The test connected Brazil’s Drex CBDC network and Hong Kong’s Ensemble platform
• Chainlink provided interoperability between the two blockchain systems
• The pilot aimed to automate trade settlement, reduce costs, and support small businesses
• Standard Chartered Bank also participated in the project
• The test is part of Phase 2 of Brazil’s Drex project, focusing on international settlement
• Brazil continues to advance its digital real (Drex) initiative amid rising stablecoin adoption

 In a groundbreaking development for international trade, Brazil and Hong Kong have successfully conducted a blockchain-based cross-border trade finance pilot powered by Chainlink. The collaboration involved Banco Inter, the Central Bank of Brazil, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), marking a major step toward the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in global financial settlements.

The pilot took place under Phase 2 of Brazil’s Drex project, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative, and demonstrated how blockchain interoperability can simplify cross-border trade. The test simulated export transactions between Brazil’s Drex network and Hong Kong’s Ensemble platform, which is part of the HKMA’s Project Ensemble.

According to Banco Inter, Chainlink played a crucial role by providing the interoperability layer that connected the two independent blockchain systems. This enabled seamless data exchange and settlement across networks — a challenge that has long limited cross-border financial efficiency.

Banco Inter explained that the system supports tokenized payments and automated title transfers through smart contracts, cutting down on costs and risks while opening new global market opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In traditional trade finance, such transactions involve multiple intermediaries and manual verification steps. The pilot showed how blockchain can streamline this by automatically synchronizing goods movement, payment settlement, and ownership transfer on-chain.

Standard Chartered Bank also joined the pilot, further demonstrating how major financial institutions are testing blockchain-based interoperability solutions to modernize trade finance — a $30 trillion industry still heavily dependent on paper-based processes.

Brazil’s Digital Real and the Future of CBDCs

Brazil’s digital real, branded as Drex, is advancing rapidly as the Central Bank of Brazil continues to expand its blockchain experiments. While Drex is often described as a CBDC, officials have clarified that it is more accurately a blockchain infrastructure project aimed at improving credit access, enhancing privacy, and modernizing the nation’s financial system.

Central Bank of Brazil President Gabriel Galípolo recently highlighted the growing importance of digital payments, noting that 90% of crypto transactions in Brazil involve stablecoins. This shift reflects Brazil’s status as one of the world’s most active crypto markets, ranking fifth globally in adoption.

The integration of Chainlink’s interoperability technology into Drex’s ecosystem could play a key role in linking Brazil’s financial infrastructure with international systems, potentially paving the way for faster, more transparent, and programmable cross-border trade settlements.

Final Thought

The Brazil–Hong Kong blockchain trade pilot marks a major leap toward global interoperability in digital finance. By using Chainlink to bridge CBDC platforms, the experiment showed how blockchain can eliminate friction in international trade, empower SMEs, and improve transparency. As Brazil’s Drex continues to evolve, this collaboration may set the standard for next-generation cross-border payment systems worldwide.