Tony Volpon, a former director at the Central Bank of Brazil, has unveiled BRD, a new stablecoin designed to give global investors exposure to Brazil’s high-yield interest rate environment through blockchain-based infrastructure.
Volpon announced the project during an appearance on CNN Brasil’s “Cripto na Real” program, describing BRD as a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the Brazilian real and fully backed by Brazilian government debt.
The reserves will consist of National Treasury bonds, which earn interest tied to Brazil’s benchmark Selic rate, currently around 15%, one of the highest policy rates among major economies.
Unlike traditional fiat-pegged stablecoins that focus primarily on payments and capital preservation, BRD is structured as a yield-sharing token.
According to Volpon, returns generated by the underlying sovereign bonds are intended to be passed through to token holders, effectively transforming Brazil’s local interest rates into a blockchain-native investment product.
While the precise technical mechanism for distributing yield has not yet been fully disclosed, the design positions BRD closer to a tokenized fixed-income instrument than a simple digital currency.
Volpon argued that BRD could serve multiple strategic purposes. For investors, particularly those outside Brazil, it offers a regulated and transparent pathway to access high local yields without navigating the country’s traditional financial infrastructure.
For Brazil, broader demand for BRD could translate into increased demand for government bonds, potentially helping to lower borrowing costs over time by expanding the investor base.
The initiative comes as global interest in yield-bearing stablecoins grows, driven by persistently high interest rates in emerging markets and rising demand for onchain financial products that combine stability with income generation.
Volpon suggested the token could appeal to institutional investors seeking diversification and higher returns than those currently available in developed markets, where benchmark rates remain significantly lower.
While regulatory details and launch timelines remain pending, BRD highlights how stablecoins are evolving beyond payments, increasingly acting as bridges between sovereign debt markets and blockchain-based finance.