The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) announced on September 5, 2024 that it has selected 13 participants to enter the second phase of the pilot of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the "Real Digital". The projects, which will be overseen by the BCB and the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), received a total of 42 proposals. Visa will work with XP Investments and digital bank Nubank to optimise the foreign exchange market, while Spanish banking giant Santander will participate in projects involving car operations and loan decarbonisation. In addition, important Financial Institutions Groups such as Bradesco, ItaúUnibanco and local bourse B3 have also been selected to participate in the test. The BCB said that the third phase of testing will open for registration in the third quarter of 2024, with plans to test the implementation of smart contracts in the first half of 2025. The first phase of the pilot was launched in May 2023 with 14 participants.