BRICS Introduce Gold Based Crypto in Bid to End Dollar Dependence

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  Newsroom

• December 08, 2025

• Newsroom

BRICS Introduce Gold Based Crypto in Bid to End Dollar Dependence

The BRICS economic coalition has taken a significant step toward reducing reliance on the US dollar with the introduction of a functional prototype for a gold-referenced trade currency known as the Unit. The announcement was made on December 4 by the Institute for Economic Strategies of the Russian Academy of Sciences according to reporting from Reuters the South China Morning Post and Russia’s state news agency TASS.

The Unit is designed as a settlement instrument for cross-border trade and is backed by a reference basket linked to gold. Its valuation adjusts daily based on movements in the participating national currencies relative to gold. As of December 4 market changes set the basket’s value at 98.23 grams of gold bringing the Unit’s value to 0.9823 grams per Unit. Analysts cited by Reuters described the initiative as an early but meaningful signal of long term demand for gold as emerging markets continue to diversify away from dollar holdings.

Efforts to reduce dollar exposure have intensified across the BRICS economies in recent years. Russia and China now settle nearly all bilateral transactions in yuan and rubles while India and China have increasingly shifted to using their domestic currencies for mutual trade. Nearly all trade within the Eurasian Economic Union is already conducted in local currencies according to the Eurasian Economic Commission. However challenges persist. India faces a trade deficit of roughly 60 billion dollars with Russia largely driven by energy purchases complicating the use of a purely national currency settlement system.

Parallel to currency diversification BRICS nations have also explored digital settlement mechanisms. At last year’s Kazan summit member states introduced BRICS Pay a digital settlement system based on the virtual versions of national currencies including the digital ruble and digital yuan. Russia conducted domestic tests of the digital ruble earlier this year through the national banking system. Policymakers have also previously floated the idea of a gold-backed instrument for bilateral trade particularly in transactions with Russia.

The newly unveiled Unit represents the first operational prototype of such a gold-referenced trade currency within the BRICS context. While it is not yet an officially adopted policy tool central banks and finance ministries across the Global South including several in Africa are monitoring the pilot. The mechanism is designed to allow participating countries to retain gold reserves domestically while enhancing liquidity and reducing settlement friction in gold-linked trade.

The project remains in an experimental phase but reflects growing interest among emerging markets in reshaping the current dollar-centric global financial architecture.