BRICS Currency 2026: Divisions Remain

JAKARTA – The gold-based BRICS common currency initiative, known as the “Unit”, faces complex challenges ahead of its planned global rollout. This ambitious project, which was initiated to reduce dependence on the US dollar, is hampered by fundamental problems, ranging from gaps in technical infrastructure, lack of solid policy coordination between member countries, to increasing skepticism regarding its feasibility and legitimacy.

Quoted from Watcher Guru, the biggest challenge originates from within the bloc itself, namely the lack of comprehensive agreement regarding the basic framework of a common currency. The attitudes of member states show striking differences. Russian President Vladimir Putin, for example, stated in November 2024 that Russia had no intention of abandoning the US dollar, a statement that dampened previous enthusiasm. India has firmly rejected the concept of a common currency due to fears of trade retaliation from the United States.

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Meanwhile, China, which holds the largest gold reserves in this block, still chooses to remain silent regarding its official participation. Brazil, although initially enthusiastic, has not shown sufficient concrete support. These sharp differences in views created serious coordination problems, hindering the creation of the unified monetary system that was the original goal.

On the technical side, the credibility of this project is also questionable. The pilot program launched on October 31, 2025 with the issuance of 100 Units by the International Research Institute for Advanced Systems turned out to be marred by documents containing spelling errors and incomplete specifications. Until December 2024, the main central banks of the BRICS countries have not yet provided comprehensive confirmation about the operational system that will be used.

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Supporting infrastructure is also a big problem. To store the approximately 6,000 metric tonnes of gold that forms the basis of the asset, a secure storage facility with a capacity of approximately 300 cubic meters is required with annual maintenance costs estimated at 579 to USD 965 million. The current implementation plan is considered not to accommodate these very crucial logistics and security needs.