Latam Insights Encore: A BRICS Currency Is Coming, Sooner or Later

Latam Insights Encore: A BRICS Currency Is Unavoidable

While the dollar loses value and relevance as a trade currency across the world, new exchange currency will inevitably take shape. BRICS is one of the actors determined to push back against the U.S. dollar hegemony in trade, as the bloc’s size and relevance continue to grow exponentially.

While BRICS countries, including behemoths like China, Russia, India, and Brazil, have opted out of the idea for the time being, the initiative is still on the table, and it has been revived by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

During the 2025 BRICS summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Lula called for the New Development Bank (NDB) to consider a new trade currency for the “benefit of humanity.”

A trade-only currency is not a new concept. A similar proposal was approved by the ALBA–TCP bloc, which approved the issuance of the Sucre, a common digital currency for trade transactions launched in 2010.

Even with the renewed menace of President Trump, who recently stated that “any country aligning themselves with the anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff,” the launch of a BRICS currency is inevitable in a few years.

There are several reasons: some of the countries of the BRICS have been hit by unilateral sanctions that have affected their trading capabilities using the U.S. dollar. A new, neutral currency would fix this issue. Other countries fearing the same sanctions would also side with the new currency, even if it is just for trade purposes.

In the past, analysts have speculated about this hypothetical currency being pegged to gold, allowing for easy balancing transactions using gold settlements between the participating nations. In any case, as the BRICS bloc grows, the need for this kind of economic integration will eventually bring forth a new currency.

Read more: Brazilian President Lula Proposes BRICS Develop New Trade Currency