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AInvest reports that Brazil’s Drex digital-real project opened a fresh pilot this week aimed at putting mortgage deeds and rental contracts straight on its blockchain rails. In the test, Caixa Econômica Federal used Drex tokens to settle an old loan and transfer a São Paulo apartment to a new owner in a single transaction, cutting paperwork time from days to minutes.
The experiment builds on earlier trials where Santander and Visa tokenized deposits on the same network. Ledger Insights notes the central bank has picked more than a dozen banks, fintechs and real-estate registries to stress-test property swaps, escrow, and programmable rent flows before Drex’s public launch in 2026.
“Drex is the start of banking tokenization; it can reshape how Brazilians buy homes,” Exame quotes Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank, during a June fintech forum. He said programmable money will slash fraud risks and let buyers lock funds until titles clear—features that traditional payment rails cannot match.
Latin America is racing toward on-chain assets. While Argentina is experimenting with lithium-backed tokens and El Salvador has doubled its bitcoin reserves, Brazil’s strategy centres on regulated real-estate, hoping to draw both retail savers and global funds seeking inflation-hedged income.
If the Drex pilot keeps pace, officials expect live token closings for mid-market apartments by late next year, turning a complex deed transfer into something that settles at smartphone speed.
