BRICS De-Dollarization Strategy Shifts to Payment Infrastructure Over Currency Creation
BRICS nations have pivoted from speculative currency unification to building tangible payment networks, marking a strategic evolution in de-dollarization efforts. Russia’s SPFS, China’s CIPS, and India’s UPI now interoperate through blockchain-based BRICS Pay, slashing USD usage in intra-bloc trade by 66%. Bilateral clearing arrangements—like Russia-China’s $244.8 billion yuan/ruble trade volume—demonstrate the model’s viability.
The playbook prioritizes commodity-backed finance and local currency deals over political confrontation. This infrastructure-first approach quietly disrupts dollar hegemony by enabling Global South trade channels without requiring a Euro-style single currency.