Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has said he’s dropping his plans to dethrone the U.S. dollar, following the win of his 'buddy' President Donald Trump.
Putin's bold statement comes just after Trump’s recent victory in the United States election, after his dominance saw him triumph over Vice President Kamala Harris.
The unexpected development brings the famous Trump-Putin “bromance” back into the spotlight, a relationship that’s stirred endless controversy, fueled countless conspiracy theories and kept political insiders on edge since Trump first stepped into the Oval Office.
For years, BRICS+ countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, along with new members like Iran and Egypt—have been pushing to move away from dollar dependence.
With Russia chairing BRICS in 2024, Putin had proposed initiatives to ramp up trade in BRICS countries’ own currencies and even develop a new cross-border payment system to sidestep the SWIFT network, which the U.S. controls.
The biggest idea? A multi-currency trading system for BRICS countries, sidestepping U.S. economic influence. They’ve been talking about a cross-border payment initiative, or BCBPI, to cut the dollar out of trade.
Here’s the strategy in simple terms: trade in national currencies, avoid the SWIFT messaging system and make use of blockchain.
Putin’s proposal goes deeper than just swapping one currency for another. “BRICS will experiment with distributed ledger technology,” he said, “promoting the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) so nations can settle trade imbalances directly, without the need for SWIFT.”
In other words, the goal is for BRICS to create a financial ecosystem where member countries don’t need to rely on U.S.-centric systems at all.
This new securities accounting and settlement system aims to shift financial instruments away from the U.S. dollar. It would facilitate investments in national currencies among BRICS countries.
But make no mistake, they aren’t just playing around with small trades. BRICS wants a whole new way to handle debt, even proposing an “investment hub” that could issue debt in national currencies rather than euros or dollars.
The BRICS blockchain-based payment system has been engineered to work like a digital backbone for this dollar-free financial system. This will connect national CBDCs and bypass traditional banking channels. To put it simply, they’re using blockchain to shut out the dollar from their transactions.
The bloc is also looking to set up new trade mechanisms to buy and sell commodities without ever needing to touch the dollar. First up? A BRICS Grain Exchange and a new pricing agency to handle things like grain, oil, and gas. Instead of the dollar, these commodities could be priced in local currencies.
BRICS is also pushing for new trading centers focused on raw materials like gold, oil, and natural gas. The idea is straightforward: create dollar-free zones where these resources are traded and settled without involving U.S. banks or payment systems. BRICS has even hinted that gold could be used as a reserve for these exchanges.