Ripple and CSD BR have started using the XRP Ledger to mirror Brazilian investment-fund records in a live regulated environment, beginning with shares of BTG Pactual funds.
CSD BR has more than BRL 22 trillion in registered assets, but that does not mean all of those assets are being moved onto the XRP Ledger. The first phase only covers selected BTG Pactual investment fund shares.
CSD BR will continue to be the official record for ownership, registration, deposits and settlements. The XRP Ledger will provide an additional record that authorized institutions can use to check and audit information.
The project is taking place inside CSD BR’s existing financial-market infrastructure rather than as a separate blockchain experiment. Investors, issuers and other participants can continue using the same processes while the blockchain system operates alongside them.
BTG Pactual fund shares held through CSD BR will be represented on the XRP Ledger using its Multi-Purpose Token standard. The blockchain will mirror the ownership information, allowing approved participants to compare it with CSD BR’s official records in near real time.
CSD BR will still control the assets and remain legally responsible for ownership records, deposits and settlements. The XRP Ledger is being used as a second record that can help institutions verify whether the blockchain information matches CSD BR’s records.
The system uses Ripple’s custody technology together with XRP Ledger functions. Access is limited to corporate and banking customers in Brazil that complete the required Know Your Customer and anti-money laundering checks.
CSD BR will also control participation and management of the tokenized records. Assets can be frozen or transactions reversed when required by a regulatory or court order.
Daniel Polano Spreafico, CSD BR’s head of products and clients, said the company chose record mirroring so it could introduce blockchain technology without changing the existing processes used by investors and issuers.
BTG Pactual fund shares are the first live assets being used in the project. The companies have not disclosed which individual funds are involved, their total value or the expected number of transactions during this initial phase.
Luis Furtado, a BTG Pactual partner responsible for market infrastructure, said the project allows the bank to test blockchain technology within regulated fund infrastructure while keeping the existing ownership records in place.
This means the legal ownership register has not been moved completely onto the XRP Ledger. CSD BR’s records still determine who owns the assets, while XRPL provides another place to verify and audit the information.
The BRL 22 trillion figure also needs to be put into context. It represents the total value of assets registered across CSD BR’s existing infrastructure, not the amount being tokenized on XRPL in this first phase.
If the initial project moves forward successfully, Ripple and CSD BR could eventually explore assets that are issued directly through blockchain infrastructure instead of simply mirroring existing records.
Two possible future asset classes are Brazilian Real Estate Receivables Certificates, known as CRIs, and Agribusiness Receivables Certificates, or CRAs. These products are linked to Brazil’s real estate and agricultural markets.
The companies could also explore trading between approved institutions and move toward blockchain-based issuance and transactions. No specific timeline has been announced for these next steps.
Privacy tools are another part of the longer-term plan. As more financial activity moves onto the ledger, the companies want to add technology that can protect sensitive transaction information while still meeting financial-market requirements.
The project also adds to the growing number of institutional experiments involving tokenized assets on the XRP Ledger.
Earlier this year, Ripple, JPMorgan, Mastercard and Ondo tested the redemption of a tokenized U.S. Treasury product on XRPL. The blockchain part of that transaction was completed in roughly five seconds, with RLUSD involved in the settlement process.
Institutions using the XRP Ledger also do not necessarily need to hold large amounts of XRP. They can use the network’s infrastructure and tokenized assets while XRP may have a more limited role related to fees, account reserves or specific liquidity functions.
For CSD BR, the immediate goal is to make sure the mirrored fund records remain accurate and reliable. If that phase is successful, the companies could expand the system to more asset classes, blockchain-native issuance, trading between approved institutions and additional privacy features.
The project could eventually have applications beyond Brazil, but no international rollout has been announced.
