Code Within Brazil’s CBDC Pilot Enables Freeze or Reduction of Funds

Pedro Magalhães, a blockchain developer and founder of Iora Labs, has reportedly cracked open the source code of Brazil’s pilot central bank digital currency (CBDC). His findings reveal some intriguing functions, including the capacity to freeze funds or diminish account balances, a concern that has long been raised by those against CBDC’s asserting it is programmable and limits financial freedom.

Although these capabilities have raised eyebrows, Magalhães argues there might be scenarios where such features could prove advantageous.

On July 6, the digital Brazilian real pilot project’s source code was made available on GitHub by Brazil’s central bank. The bank clarified that the project is currently in a testing phase and further adjustments to the “presented architecture” may be on the horizon.

Magalhães scrutinized the source code from Banco Central do Brazil’s digital real project, and his investigation unearthed specific functions within the code. These features included freezing and thawing account balances, adjusting account values, transferring currency between addresses, and generating or destroying digital real from a particular address.

According to Magalhães, Brazil’s central bank will likely retain these functionalities for applications such as secured loans and other operations anchored in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.

Magalhães raised concerns about the vagueness surrounding the circumstances that warrant the freezing of tokens and more significantly, who wields the power to initiate such actions. He explained, “One thing is to agree with an operation and execute a DeFi operation that involves different blockchains; another completely different thing is an institution having the ability to freeze the balance on its initiative, and that’s precisely how they’ve developed the smart contracts.”

He added that these factors should be publicly disclosed within the smart contracts and should undergo discussion with the general public, which hasn’t occurred yet.

This revelation has sparked a flurry of concern within the cryptocurrency community, with many individuals fearing that a CBDC could pose a threat to their financial autonomy and privacy.

However, Magalhães clarified on July 10 that while concerns over a CBDC in Brazil are valid, it could also present several benefits. He noted that it would render taxes more easily traceable, providing the public with the ability to scrutinize how tax funds are allocated. Additionally, it could bolster transparency in parliamentary amendments and permit the on-chain inspection of state purchases.