Brazil’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot project, Drex, is facing significant hurdles as it struggles with resource constraints. Two key companies involved in developing privacy solutions for the project, Microsoft and Ernst & Young, have recently scaled back their workforce dedicated to these efforts due to a lack of progress. This slowdown is attributed to the central bank’s recent decision to conclude the second phase of the Drex pilot without approving any submitted projects. The central bank has reportedly demanded changes to privacy proposals for transaction confidentiality during regulatory review, leading to an impasse and stalling the project.