A Russian official reportedly stated that the BRICS group is trying to develop its own currency. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are the top five rising countries that make up the “BRICS” acronym. The new currency aims to free the globe from the dominance of the US dollar.
Back during May 2019, in order to better advance their economic interests, the BRICS nations were attempting to create a new reserve currency. The five-nation bloc’s currencies—the Chinese RMB Yuan, the Russian Ruble, the Indian Rupee, the Brazilian Real, and the South African Rand—were to serve as the basis for the new currency. The Euro declined all the BRIC currencies in 2022.
Alexander Babakov, the deputy chairman of the State Duma at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum event in New Delhi notably emphasised the significance of both countries working towards a new payment medium, noting that digital payments may be the most promising and practical.
Babakov reflected on this aim of the currency by stating that, “Its composition should be based on inducting new monetary ties established on a strategy that does not defend the U.S. ‘s dollar or euro, but rather forms a new currency competent of benefiting our shared objectives.”
This particular goal has been in focus evidently as an agreement was negotiated between China and Brazil to do commerce in their respective currencies. By this agreement, direct trade and financial transactions will be possible between China and Brazil, the largest economy in South America. Instead of using the dollar as a middleman, the Chinese yuan will be converted straight into Brazilian real and vice versa.
After being established legally as a payment method in Brazil late last year, cryptocurrencies in the country are becoming more popular. China is moving quickly with its central bank’s digital currency project.
The BRICS countries earlier announced that they were working to create a cooperative payment network in order to reduce their dependence on the Western banking system. Additionally, the member nations began practising trade utilising more native currencies in their bilateral commerce. With the current US government’s anti-crypto stance and the ongoing banking collapse, it seems that the world is looking beyond the dollar in order to gain power.