BRICS countries launch gold-backed digital currency "Unit"

PANews, December 8—According to Intellinews citing the Institute of Economic Strategies at the Russian Academy of Sciences (IRIAS), the BRICS group has launched a working prototype of a gold-backed trade currency called “Unit.” This is a digital trading tool supported by a reserve basket comprising 40% physical gold and 60% BRICS national currencies, with equal weights for the Brazilian real, Chinese yuan, Indian rupee, Russian ruble, and South African rand. The pilot project was initiated by IRIAS, which issued 100 Units on October 31, each initially pegged to 1 gram of gold. Although this initiative has not yet become official policy, its existence is a direct step toward de-dollarization. The value of “Unit” is designed to fluctuate daily based on the movements of the component currencies against gold. As of December 4, market fluctuations had adjusted the value of the reserve basket to the equivalent of 98.23 grams of gold, effectively making the value of each unit 0.9823 grams of gold.

Crypto KOL @Mark4XX reminds that this is only a pilot project and not an officially adopted currency. It was initiated by IRIAS and promoted by some BRICS member states. Other countries, including some in Africa, are closely monitoring its progress.