Brazil’s financial watchdogs will start using a shared blockchain platform dubbed ‘PIER’ to enhance the transfer of information amongst the institutions. This initiative was launched in April with the major stakeholders being Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), insurance regulator (SUSEP) and the securities authority, CVM. Notably, the country’s social security oversight body (PREVIC) is also set to join this ecosystem eventually.

This blockchain network was initially developed by Brazil’s central bank, BCB, which credited the new tech for its horizontal layout in information sharing. The bank had begun experimenting on blockchain projects as early as 2017 and revealed its ongoing work on PIER network a year later.

BCB’s press officer, Ivone Portes, has since told media outlet Coindesk that the project cost R$1,300,000 which translates to $252,700 as per the current exchange rates. She went on to note that the bank is, however, confident in getting value from PIER blockchain.

PIER is run on JP Morgan’s open-source network, Quorum; this Ethereum based innovation has been hailed by the BCB for its ‘private IT infrastructure’. BNamericas further highlighted that the platform leverages cloud computing services from Microsoft Azure. Marcelo Barbosa, the president of CVM, said that PIER will change Brazil’s markets scene towards a more profitable outlook,

“Our objective is that this system promotes gains to the market, given the more efficient, safe and adequate supervision and enforcement to the new technological scenario that we are experiencing”

With PIER’s online bridge, the BCB is also optimistic about streamlining its oversight on Brazil’s financial institutions. One of the functions that have been mentioned by this central bank is vetting elected officials of its regulated entities. The bank’s deputy head, Daniel Bichuette, added that PIER would effectively reduce the processing time of assessing requirements.

This development will probably push Brazil’s blockchain space to newer practicalities. Currently, the South American country is among those that have embraced blockchain tech on a larger scale across the world.

As a result, some private banks within its jurisdiction have already pioneered digital currency tokens on Tezos blockchain. The BCB together with its peer regulators also formed a blockchain sandbox back in June 2019 as a means to spur growth within this industry.

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