Brazil's CBDC pilot project Drex has encountered obstacles in privacy solutions due to weakened support from external partners.

PANews April 11 news, according to Bitcoin.com, Brazil's Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot project Drex is facing difficulties. Due to a reduction in resources allocated to the project, the progress has slowed down and development has been hindered. The two largest companies involved in designing privacy solutions for the project—Microsoft and Ernst & Young—have recently reduced their manpower dedicated to this work. This deadlock is related to the recent actions of the Central Bank, which ended the second phase of the Drex pilot without approving any projects submitted by participants. The privacy proposals that needed to ensure transaction confidentiality while allowing regulatory review have not met the Central Bank's requirements in this regard, and the Drex project is currently at a standstill. Currently, Ernst & Young, responsible for the Starlight privacy project, has lost three personnel involved in the development of this solution. Meanwhile, after investing substantial resources last year, Microsoft has reduced its participation in its ZKP Nova privacy proposal. However, Microsoft's partner Hamsa will continue to test and support ZKP Nova. Central Bank Executive Secretary Rogerio Lucca recently pointed out that the team behind drex is still researching the future of the project. He stated, "Based on the ongoing test results, the technical team is currently discussing possible future steps for the project." However, he did not disclose the test results.