Moscow desires to determine an autonomous BRICS cost system, leveraging digital currencies and blockchain in an effort to lower its dependency on the U.S. greenback.
In an interview with the Russian state-owned information company TASS on Feb. 5, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov disclosed the Kremlin’s efforts to develop a brand new blockchain-based system for BRICS, an intergovernmental group comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
Whereas particular particulars of the system stay undisclosed, Ushakov steered that it might incorporate digital currencies, doubtlessly together with central financial institution digital currencies (CBDCs), as Moscow has been engaged on its digital ruble for a while now. The Kremlin official emphasised the significance of such a system for BRICS, highlighting its potential for cost-effectiveness and neutral operation.
“We imagine that creating an unbiased BRICS cost system is a vital objective for the long run, which might be primarily based on state-of-the-art instruments akin to digital applied sciences and blockchain.”
Yury Ushakov
Regardless of Ushakov’s emphasis on enhancing BRICS’ prominence throughout the worldwide financial and monetary system in 2024, he didn’t present particulars on the timeline for launching the blockchain system.
Ushakov’s feedback come only a week after Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that to ensure that the BRICS international locations to develop usually, the group has to consider “creating our personal monetary methods functioning independently of politics and making certain commerce relations between our international locations.”
For a number of months, Moscow has been advocating for a blockchain-based resolution for BRICS, significantly as Western sanctions escalate. In September 2023, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin emphasized the need for town to implement cross-border settlements using blockchain expertise and digital property. Mishustin highlighted that such initiatives would supply “extra prospects” for attracting overseas investments.