On Oct. 31, 2025, BRICS members began piloting a gold-backed digital Unit to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar and limit sanctions risk. Eleven full members are testing the system to enable alternative international settlements and lower transaction costs.
The eleven testing members are Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia joined in July 2025, adding major oil output and substantial gold reserves.
Ten partner countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, have system access. About twenty other nations have filed formal applications, bringing the total positioned to accept the system to over forty (Ed. note: this signals rapid geographic expansion).
The Unit is structured as 40% physical gold and 60% BRICS national currencies for settlements. The pilot began on Oct. 31, 2025, and a working prototype launched on Dec. 8, 2025.
Members say the design lowers transaction costs, bypasses SWIFT conversion fees, and hedges against fiat volatility. A fully operational trading platform may not reach scale until 2026–2027 as nations phase in use.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stated “If international governance does not reflect the 21st century’s new multipolar reality, it is up to the BRICS to contribute to bringing it up to date.” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “One of our problems today is being dependent on the dollar.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov added “More and more countries are switching to the use of national currencies in their trade and foreign economic activities. If the U.S. uses force, as they say economic force, to compel countries to use the dollar it will further strengthen the trend of switching to national currencies.”
