Brazil's crypto revolution: how BRD is transforming access to the Portuguese real yields

In the landscape of Latin American financial innovation, Brazil positions itself as the epicenter of a crypto transformation destined to catalyze the interest of global investors. While millions of people in the world’s largest Portuguese-speaking country continue to discover fintech opportunities, a new stablecoin called BRD promises to bridge a critical gap: making the Brazilian yield market accessible abroad, notoriously among the most attractive in the world.

Tony Volpon, a prominent figure with years of experience as the director of the Central Bank of Brazil, publicly presented this vision during an interview on the “Crypto na Real” program on CNN Brasil. The proposal is not trivial: a stablecoin structured to explicitly distribute the yields derived from Brazilian government debt to its holders, combining the stability of the Brazilian Portuguese currency with the appeal of sovereign yields.

The numbers behind BRD: 15% yields and global accessibility

The BRD stablecoin will be pegged to Brazilian National Treasury bonds, offering holders direct exposure to local interest rates. With the Central Bank of Brazil’s benchmark rate held at 15%, the differential with the American context (where the Federal Reserve maintains rates between 3.5% and 3.75%) presents an unprecedented opportunity for institutional investors seeking real yields above inflation.

Volpon highlights how Brazil has historically attracted foreign capital thanks to its competitive rates, but access has remained constrained by structural obstacles: regulatory complexity, currency frictions, and fragmented infrastructure. BRD aims precisely to dismantle these barriers, allowing anyone with a crypto wallet to expose themselves to the Brazilian economy without going through traditional banking channels.

The competitive space: BRD challenges BRZ, BBRL, and BRLV

The Brazilian stablecoin market is not uncharted territory. Transfero has already established a dominant position with BRZ, which boasts a market capitalization of $185 million. BBRL follows with about $51 million, while smaller tokens like BRL1 (supported by the ecosystem including local exchanges Mercado Bitcoin and Bitso) continue to gather followers.

Particularly interesting is the emergence of the startup Crown, which last December raised $13.5 million from Paradigm to launch BRLV, a stablecoin with a similar yield mechanic. However, while BRLV has only two holders with about 19 million reais in circulation, BRD aims to be a more structured solution oriented toward institutional markets.

BRD’s differentiation lies in its claim to be the first real pegged token to explicitly implement yield sharing as a core element of its tokenomics design, not as an afterthought.

Broader implications: Brazilian economy and global access

Volpon emphasizes a frequently overlooked aspect: a stablecoin designed to channel demand toward Brazilian government debt could reduce the country’s borrowing costs, broadening the investor base. In a scenario where nations compete globally for capital, this mechanic represents a significant economic lever.

For Brazil, a country that has built part of its identity on financial innovation and sophisticated fixed-income markets, the emergence of stablecoins distributing real yields reflects a natural evolution. The local crypto ecosystem, with its established exchanges and widespread familiarity with digital assets, provides the foundation for this experimentation.

The next chapter

The arrival of BRD marks a transitional moment in the Brazilian stablecoin market. While the project still needs to demonstrate traction, the underlying economic logic remains solid: global investors will never stop seeking real yields, and Brazil will continue to offer them in abundance. The question now is which player—established BRZ, emerging BRD, or one of the smaller competitors—will succeed in capturing the growing demand for Brazilian exposure in the crypto financial metaverse.