BRICS Countries Explore Settlement Project to Counter Dollar Hegemony

BRICS is the grouping of major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. These five nations formed a partnership in 2009, which has now become BRICS+ after Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined. It is often seen as a counterweight to western-led institutions. 

Although the US was not mentioned by name in the Declaration, it was very clear who the target was. President Trump certainly understood the message: he subsequently used a Truth Social post to warn that: “Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff”.

This isn’t the first time BRICS has levied criticism against the US. Indeed, one of the aims of the grouping is to find ways to challenge the US hegemony over the global economy, even if it is ostensibly dressed up as developing “co-operation among emerging markets and developing countries”, according to China’s foreign ministry.

Cryptocurrencies, and the technology behind them, provide an opportunity to do just that, given their decentralized nature outside the traditional financial system. However, achieving measurable results requires unity, planning and cooperation.

Varying approaches across the BRICS

Inevitably, the combination of politics and the rapid growth of the crypto market means there are differences in approach across the grouping.

BRICS leaders at the Summit in Rio de Janeiro, July 2025

China initially welcomed crypto: estimates suggest that, in 2017, 80% of all Bitcoin transactions were taking place via the Yuan. Then in September that year, the government effectively closed all the country’s Bitcoin exchanges. However, China was also the first major economy to launch a central bank digital currency with the arrival of the digital Yuan – e-CNY – in early 2022. And the Hong Kong government is working hard on crypto regulations, which could be a testing area for China’s future regulatory regime.

The Trump administration’s enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies is likely accelerating the move towards a clearer regulatory stance in India where the Supreme Court has called on the government to provide clarity amid growing adoption of digital assets. 

Russia relaxed restrictions on crypto usage and  investment after being sanctioned for expanding its invasion of Ukraine. It uses cryptocurrencies as an alternative to avoid sanctions, for example in its oil trade with China and India, according to a Reuters analysis from March this year. 

Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy by GDP, is quickly emerging as a digital asset hub in the region, with a growing number of Brazilians adopting cryptocurrency. According to the Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, the country had $90 billion in crypto transactions during 2024. Workers in Brazil also can receive some of their pay in crypto if feasible, and lawmakers are debating the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve. 

Coming together

While the BRICS nations are plotting somewhat different courses, they all appear to agree on the utility of cryptocurrencies in a decentralized payment system, particularly for cross-border payments. They also agree that this presents a major opportunity for the BRICS countries to develop an alternative to stablecoins that are backed by the US dollar.

Currently, 98% of stablecoins are pegged to the US dollar, with over 80 percent of stablecoin transactions happen outside the US, according to analysis by the Atlantic Council. The USD has long been the world’s reserve currency and stablecoins are only cementing the greenback’s dominance. More importantly for BRICS, it also takes control away from other countries, leaving the US in the driving seat.

BRICS Pay

Hence BRICS Pay, first introduced at the BRICS Business Forum in Moscow in 2024. The BRICS Pay Consortium, with an undisclosed membership, is developing a multilateral digital payment and settlement platform using blockchain technology. It most likely will include digital versions of member countries' currencies. 

According to the BRICS Pay webstie, the aim is for it to have global coverage, providing “equal access to financial services and technologies for all countries and individuals”, thereby helping developing economies. And, to burnish its credentials as a voice for emerging economies, especially in the Global South, it is presented as meeting the UN’s first two Sustainable Development Goals: No Poverty and Zero Hunger.

However, BRICS Pay is also about creating independence from the US and its dollar, with the member countries seeking to develop BRICS sovereignty by bringing together their financial markets and increasing trade among themselves. 

Countries with BRICS Pay will be free to take financial actions “without external influence or coercion from other countries”, says the website There are no prizes for guessing which other country is the main target of that thought.

"An efficient BRICS payment system can encourage payments in national currencies and ensure sustainable payments and investments among our countries, which make up over 20% of the global inflow of foreign direct investment," said Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, at the BRICS Summit in Moscow in November 2024.

There is no guarantee BRICS Pay will ever materialize. Jim O’Neill, the economist who coined the BRIC name in 2001 – before South Africa was involved – told Reuters last year:

"I will take the BRICS group seriously when I see signs that the two countries that really matter - China and India – are actually really trying to agree on things, rather than effectively trying to confront each other all the time”. In particular, he referred to the on-going border disputes between the two countries.

Politics, money and power

Assuming it’s implemented, BRICS Pay has the potential to become an alternative to the SWIFT system, the world’s dominant payment network. In addition to connecting financial institutions between most countries, the US has used SWIFT as a sanctions tool against two BRICS members, Russia and Iran, by cutting their access. 

Lijia Zhang, a prominent Chinese commentator, made the point in a South China Morning Post article this week that BRICS Pay “could reduce reliance on the dollar and lessen exposure to US sanctions”.

The ability to transfer funds, which is of course fundamental for trade, will provide those two countries with the benefit of removing some of the sting of sanctions, while also meeting the wider BRICS objective of decentralizing power from the US and the western order.

Many advocates of digital currencies, and the technology infrastructure behind them, highlight the decentralized and apolitical nature of crypto. Yet it is impossible to separate politics, money and power. As much as Trump wants the US to be “crypto capital of the world”, the BRICS countries are seeking to use the same technology to put pressure on the US geopolitically and economically. And, over time, their tactics and methods are likely to evolve far beyond BRICS Pay.