BRICS member Russia is looking to accept cryptocurrencies to settle cross-border trade transactions and not the US dollar. Russia is advocating to receive payments in cryptocurrencies as the country faces economic sanctions by the US. The Bank of Russia announced early this month that it will push cryptocurrency payments with other countries for trade settlements.
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Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Bank of Russia confirmed that the country will launch cryptocurrency payments in an experimental style. All precautions and dangers will be monitored during the experimental process before the payment system is fully launched and functional. The country might also push the idea of cryptocurrency payments in the next BRICS summit in the Kazan region in October this year.
BRICS: Russia To Launch Cryptocurrency Payments To Trade Settlements
Nabiullina revealed that the Bank of Russia has already received applications from three businesses to start the cryptocurrency trial run. The First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Olga Skorobogatova also explained that the process to launch cryptocurrency payment will begin soon.
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“We’ve already received three applications from businesses interested in trying this,” she said. The development puts BRICS in a spot where it has too many options to choose to push the de-dollarization agenda.
Read here to know how many sectors in the US will be affected if BRICS ditches the dollar for trade. In addition, apart from cryptocurrency payments, Russia is also working towards the formation of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for the ruble. The majority of BRICS countries are also planning to launch their respective CBDC currencies in the global markets.
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Therefore, the next decade could be a game-changer for BRICS and a threat to the US dollar. If BRICS manages to control trade through their CBDC currencies, then the US dollar will be on a path of decline.