# Episode #162: Drex Without Blockchain? Exploring the Road Ahead with Gustavo Cunha and Marcos Sarres

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/brazil-crypto-report-5342676/episode-162-drex-without-blockchain-exploring-the-road-ahead-with-gustavo-cunha-and-marcos-sarres
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/brazil-crypto-report-5342676/episode-162-drex-without-blockchain-exploring-the-road-ahead-with-gustavo-cunha-and-marcos-sarres.md
Podcast: [Brazil Crypto Report](https://stenobird.com/podcast/brazil-crypto-report-5342676)
Published: 2025-08-20T15:28:03+00:00
Episode link: https://brazilcrypto.substack.com/p/episode-162-drex-without-blockchain
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/171453806/081e167bad722888f0c61ab3a5901e76.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/brazil-crypto-report-5342676/episodes/episode-162-drex-without-blockchain-exploring-the-road-ahead-with-gustavo-cunha-and-marcos-sarres
Duration seconds: 3331

## Resource

🙌 You can listen to BCR on your favorite podcast platform YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts 🔥 Join the BCR English language Telegram group to continue the conversation Olá pessoal! Brazil’s Central Bank shook the market earlier this month by announcing that it remove the blockchain component of the Drex project (at least in the short term). The project will now pivot to focus on unlocking collateral via lien reconciliation using a non-blockchain solution. The Drex project has been the driver of much of the blockchain activity in the country over the last couple years. So what does this pivot mean: is it a rug pull? or a moment for the private sector to take the lead and continue generating momentum? To discuss, I am joined by Gustavo Cunha , CEO of Fintrender and a former Brazilian banking executive, and Marcos Sarres , CEO of GoLedger - a firm specializing in blockchain development on Hyperledger. Both Gustavo and Marcos have been following the Drex project in different capacities since its initiation in 2021 , and offer valuable perspective on why blockchain did not work out as planned for Drex (at least not yet), and the road ahead for blockchain in Brazil without Drex as the driving force. Brazil Crypto Report is a media partner of Stablecoin Conference 2025, hosted by Bitso Business on August 27-28 in Mexico City Motives Behind the Pivot The core reasons for pulling the plug on blockchain here are multi-faceted, but ultimately boiled down to technical constraints. Specifically: * Ethereum's inherent transparency conflicted with unique multi-bank privacy requirements. Banks in the Drex network required transaction isolation while maintaining Central Bank supervisory visibility * Privacy preserving technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and homomorphic encryption…

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