Russia Proposes BRICS Digital Currency for Independent Payment System
4:15 AM EST, March 5, 2024
Yuri Ushakov, a Russian advisor to President Putin, detailed to "Kommersant" the ambition of BRICS to craft an independent payment system utilizing digital currencies and blockchain technology.
In a discussion with the TASS agency, Ushakov elucidated that such a framework would offer convenience to countries, their populations, and businesses. He stressed its feasibility, low cost, and apolitical nature.
Ushakov articulated an essential objective for the coming year as amplifying the influence of BRICS in the global monetary and financial arena.
He revealed plans to evolve a mechanism for managing conditional currency reserves, notably to facilitate the use of alternatives to the US dollar, he told the TASS agency.
Russia has long harbored ambitions to unify the currency within BRICS. Yet, Ushakov pointed out that achieving this vision is a complex and extended process, without specifying a timeline for the system's implementation and commencement.
Last year, the group, which initially included South Africa, Brazil, India, China, and Russia, expanded by welcoming new members: the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia.
The expanded organization now represents territories whose cumulative income surpasses one-third of global GDP, home to 45% of the world's population.
Collectively, these nations hold close to 45% of the globe’s oil reserves. Most maintain a neutral stance regarding Russia's conflict with Ukraine, refraining from endorsing Western efforts to internationally isolate Moscow. As of January 1st, Moscow has assumed the rotating BRICS presidency.
