The rising strength of the BRICS group is emerging as a serious threat to the established world order – with countries like Saudi Arabia joining the alliance in a blow to the standing of the petrodollar – and now the group is exploring the creation of their own currency using blockchain technology.
According to a report from Russian news agency TAAS, BRICS is working to create an independent payment system based on digital currencies and blockchain, a plan that Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov called a “Contingent Reserve Arrangement.”
“We believe that creating an independent BRICS payment system is an important goal for the future, which would be based on state-of-the-art tools such as digital technologies and blockchain,” Ushakov said. “The main thing is to make sure it is convenient for governments, common people, and businesses, as well as cost-effective and free of politics.”
Ushakov said the primary goal of the work being done in 2024 is to increase the role of BRICS in the international monetary and financial system. This includes a move away from a reliance on the U.S. dollar in settlements and is part of a larger de-dollarization movement taking hold around the globe.
He noted that in the 2023 Johannesburg Declaration, the leaders determined that BRICS countries needed to increase settlements in national currencies and strengthen their correspondent banking networks to secure international transactions.
“Work will continue to develop the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, primarily regarding the use of currencies different from the US dollar,” Ushakov said.
On Feb. 28, TASS reported that Russia’s Finance Ministry, the Bank of Russia, and several BRICS partners were working to create the BRICS Bridge multisided payment platform as part of their efforts to improve the global monetary system.
"By the end of the year, the Russian Finance Ministry and the Bank of Russia together with partners within the [BRICS] association will draft a report for the leaders of the BRICS countries on improving the international monetary and financial system, which will contain a set of initiatives and recommendations,” the Finance Ministry said. “Developmental work based on the report will result in a number of practical initiatives, with the BRICS Bridge platform potentially becoming one of them.”
“The issue is about creating a multisided digital payment platform,” they added. “It will help bring the financial markets of the BRICS member states closer and increase mutual trade turnover.”
"The gradual integration of the new BRICS member states into the work of the financial tracks and strengthening of cooperation at the expert level was noted as being one of the crucial tasks for 2024," the ministry said.
