Chainlink connects the Central Bank of Brazil and the HKMA — first cross-border, cross-chain trade settlement experiment (Drex × Ensemble)
EV-057 · Central Bank of Brazil × Hong Kong Monetary Authority · 2025-11-04 · Evidence class: pilot · Confidence 97%
In plain English
In plain terms: Brazil’s central bank and Hong Kong’s central bank each built their own digital settlement platform. Chainlink software connected the two so a trade could settle across both countries at once, with the goods and the payment released together. It is the first documented case of Chainlink linking two central banks’ systems.
Detail
Evidence class: PILOT. Under Phase 2 of Brazil’s Drex initiative, Banco Inter and Chainlink — in partnership with the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), alongside Standard Chartered, the Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), and 7COMm — completed the first blockchain-based cross-border trade finance experiment linking BCB’s Drex network with Hong Kong’s Ensemble network. How it worked: • The Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) routed payment instructions between Drex, Banco Inter, and Ensemble — translating messages into ISO 20022 where needed — and triggered electronic bill-of-lading transfers via the GSBN API. • Chainlink CCIP synchronized events such as contract execution and credit release across the networks. • The experiment tested programmable Delivery-versus-Payment (DvP) and cross-border Payment-versus-Payment (PvP), simulating settlement of export transactions. • Following the experiment, the partners announced plans to expand to open account trade and direct API integration with financial institutions. Banco Inter’s Head of Digital Assets described the goal as "building a more connected financial ecosystem" for global trade.
Why it matters
Two central banks’ platforms — Brazil’s Drex and Hong Kong’s Ensemble — exchanged value across borders with Chainlink as the connecting infrastructure, using programmable DvP and PvP. Evidence class is pilot: the experiment simulated export settlement and the partners are expanding scope, but this is not yet production. It nonetheless earns both the Brazil and Hong Kong entries on any map of central-bank engagement with Chainlink.
Primary source: GSBN press release — Banco Inter & Chainlink, BCB × HKMA cross-border experiment (Nov 4, 2025)
Verified — GSBN primary release + CoinDesk reporting
Topics: Central Banks, Brazil, Hong Kong, Drex, HKMA, CBDC, CRE, CCIP, Trade Finance, ISO 20022
