BRICS Faces $6.6 Trillion FX Showdown—Can They Dethrone the Dollar?

The BRICS bloc stares down a $6.6 trillion foreign exchange mountain—and the USD isn’t budging. Here’s how this high-stakes financial arms race could reshape global trade.

### The Dollar’s Iron Grip

For decades, the greenback dominated cross-border deals. Now, BRICS nations are scrambling to cut reliance—but liquidity traps lurk.

### The Nuclear Option: Local Currency Swaps

Bypassing SWIFT sounds revolutionary… until you realize even gold-backed alternatives move at bureaucratic speed. Traders want efficiency, not ideology.

### The $6.6 Trillion Reality Check

Settling this without dollar intermediation? Possible. Practical? Ask the currency hedgers already pricing in 30% volatility premiums. (Bonus jab: Wall Street’s already shorting the ‘de-dollarization’ narrative—with USD-denominated contracts, naturally.)

BRICS Falters in the Foreign Exchange Market, No Match for the USD

The development indicates that the BRICS alliance must position their local currencies to be used more than $6.6 trillion in the foreign exchange markets to outperform the USD. This is simply impossible as the bloc cannot sustain or handle this many FX transactions, even if they try harder.

Business entities and individuals in the US and the West do not accept local currencies for trade and cross-border transactions. The US dollar, the euro, and the pound are the default currencies in the markets. BRICS will find it harder to penetrate the foreign exchange sector, which is solely dominated by leading Western currencies and the USD.

While the Chinese yuan makes it to the top 10 list, other BRICS currencies are nowhere compared to the USD. They are used less than 2% in all foreign exchange settlements, standing no chance to compete against the greenback. The Benjamin is the de facto currency despite the alliance pushing de-dollarization in their trade deals. If they launch a new currency, settling 88% of FX transactions could take decades, even if it happens.