BRICS to launch blockchain-powered crypto payment system

According to Russian news agency TASS, the five-nation BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, will collaborate on the development of a Blockchain payment system based on blockchain and digital technology.

"We think that developing an independent BRICS payment system based on cutting-edge instruments such as digital technology and blockchain is an essential long-term aim. The most important thing is to ensure that it is comfortable for governments, ordinary citizens, and enterprises, as well as cost-effective and politically neutral," Kremlin advisor Yury Ushakov told TASS.

The initiative is part of a specific aim for this year: to strengthen the BRICS' involvement in the international monetary system. For some years, the BRICS grouping has been seeking to reduce its reliance on US dollars for settlement, a process called de-dollarization.

"Work will continue to develop the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, primarily regarding the use of currencies different from the US dollar," Ushakov was quoted as saying.

According to another TASS article from last week, Russia's Finance Ministry, the Bank of Russia, and BRICS partners will launch the BRICS Bridge multisided payment network to enhance the global monetary system.

Also in February, Klaas Knot, the Chair of the Financial Stability Board, which monitors the global financial system, wrote to finance ministers from the Group of 20 (G20) countries, stating that crypto assets, tokenization, and artificial intelligence (AI) remain top objectives.

While the BRICS nations ramp up their efforts to build this payment infrastructure, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) has stated that it will continue to collaborate with the G20 group of nations to develop and implement regulations that will govern the digital currency ecosystem uniformly on a global scale.