BRICS News: 126 Nations Discuss Moving Away from US Dollar, Explore Crypto Payments

• BRICS hosted its sixth International Municipal Forum this week, with over 5,000 participants representing 126 countries attending the event in Moscow, Russia.
• De-dollarisation will be high on the priority list for the countries as more countries beyond North America and Europe seek to break the US stranglehold on global finance.

BRICS is becoming stronger by the day and continues to attract more developing nations who are fed up with the continued dominance of a few economies at the expense of the majority. This made this week’s summit in Moscow even more significant, with de-dollarisation topping the list of priorities.

The sixth BRICS International Municipal Forum was held on August 27-28 this week in Moscow, Russia. According to local media, leaders from 80 Russian regions were joined by over 5,000 leaders from 120 countries globally.

Commenting on the event, Moscow’s International Relations head Sergey Cheremin said the event allowed the attendees to align their priorities in their fight for global equality.

“This forum will allow us to strengthen relations not only between the BRICS capitals and Moscow but also between our partners on all continents. Today, more than 60 official delegations are represented at the event. <…> For us, this presence is evidence of our colleagues’ interest in the technologies that Moscow is implementing in the municipal sphere,” he stated.

The forum allowed the attendees to discuss some of the challenges they face in their home countries and figure out solutions and synergies together. It touched on healthcare, transport, science and technology, education and more. The attendees also discussed emerging trends such as AI, smart cities, IoT, climate change, and more. However, the global movement of money was one of the biggest themes.

BRICS De-dollarisation—Is Crypto Next?

As we’ve reported, BRICS has been the biggest critic of the US dollar-based global financial systems. The bloc’s founding members, especially Russia and China, have been at odds with the US for decades, competing on the tech, military, and economic front. America has continued to rely on the position of its currency to suppress these countries, and they are now fighting back.

Russia is the prime driver of the BRICS de-dollarisation movement. The Eastern European nation has been kicked out of most global funds transfer systems, including SWIFT, through the 5,000+ sanctions imposed by the US and its allies. As we recently reported, it’s working on a crypto-based system to circumvent this blockade.

When it started, BRICS was just an economic bloc of five nations with a vision of a post-USD world. However, earlier this year, five others, including Egypt and the UAE, joined, and it’s now turning into an unstoppable movement. Some reports have revealed that nearly 50 nations have expressed an interest in joining BRICS and that over half of them have formally sent their applications.

Another thing BRICS nations have in common is their affinity for crypto. Russia is set to fully legalize crypto for cross-border payments and open two new state-owned exchanges, and reports say China could follow suit.