According to a recent statement from the Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Financial Markets Anatoly Akskov, the BRICS nations are making an effort to replace the US dollar with cryptocurrency in trade. Aksakoc discussed the alliance’s work to utilize digital assets instead of fiat currencies for international transactions.
The economic union has long pursued de-dollarization initiatives, together with the promotion of national currencies. Subsequently, the development of digital currency solutions has been prioritized since the advent of the BRICS Pay system. Now, those efforts are set to take the bloc towards a dollarless future.
BRICS Bloc Eyes Digital Assets as US Dollar Replacement in Trade
Throughout the past year, the BRICS bloc has seized upon the opportunity to forge a multipolar world order. The expansion drive of the five nations enacted at the 2023 annual summit has been a central pillar of that. However, so too has been the commitment to far greater usage of national currencies in bilateral trade.
Now, the bloc is making a clear move on that front, with the BRICS nations reportedly looking to replace the US dollar with cryptocurrency for international trade. Indeed, Russia has stated that the bloc represents a “serious channel for replacing traditional currencies in international settlements.”
What makes the prospect of this more intriguing for the collective is that they appear committed to developing their own Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) to act as fiat replacements. Furthermore, the United States has made its stance clear against such a project in the West.
Taken together, these projects will provide the BRICS bloc with a clear path to continued de-dollarization. Moreover, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has recently discussed the development of new platforms for financial transactions. Specifically, these will support the growing presence of digital assets over fiat-based services.
Ryabkov has spoken of the “option of creating a platform that could unite the financial messaging systems” of BRICS members. What he terms a “BRICS bridge” would necessitate either stablecoins or other forms of digital currency. This would, in effect, integrate a clear path towards de-dollarization for the ten BRICS nations.
However, it will also raise concerns over the US dollar’s notable absence in any form of international dealings with the bloc members and those nations looking to conduct bilateral trade in such a manner.
