UNIT: New Gold-Backed currency has been launched by BRICS

Cosmos

Cosmos

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What has been rumored for quite a while has just been launched. UNIT, the new currency of BRICS, for now only at the test phase though and not live yet. It might not sound like a big deal but IMO it could fundamentally change how the world works. If I understood correctly it is at least 40 percent backed by physical gold and the rest is the existing local fiat currencies.

I‘m trying to get my head around it but it sounds pretty interesting and unique. I don’t quite understand it as of yet though. Currently 1 UNIT seems to equate to about 1 gram of pure gold .

Here is the official website:

UNIT Ecosystem Reserve Basket

UNIT ecosystem offers people around the world apolitical money that can be freely bought and sold or used as currency for payments via any open payment and clearing system
unitfoundation.org unitfoundation.org

Here is the whitepaper explaining how it works:


Here a light paper:


Here is a guy trying to explain it:


Edit: Spelling
 
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Of note is that this new token/currency is mainly/primarily for settling trade between BRICS countries (for now, which will/must change by necessity, aka that others outside of it have to use it too at some point?).

Secondly, it was already launched in Oktober of this year. Given the magnitude of this, it is certainly quite strange that it has received almost no coverage in the west and not even in alternative news.

It remains to be seen when it will go live but I would guess that it will/must happen no matter what the west says or is doing? When I don’t know.

After it has gone live it is probably only a matter of time until it naturally replaces most if not all dollar from trade between those countries and also by necessity attracts/forces others outside of BRICS to use it?
 
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I’ve read an article or two about Unit a few weeks ago - apparently for the time being it is only going to be a vehicle for BRICS cross-border payments, but longer-term the plan apparently is to open it up to the consumer, too. But from what I’ve read this is still a long way off.

I was wondering, too, if this was … not a joke, but more like a “teaser” - I guess time will tell.
 
I took the advice about gold to heart some time ago. Current developments seem to confirm this once again.

Since I am not familiar with current events and details regarding "BRICS" and "Unit", I had the AI "copilot" explain it to me. I also asked for the following: “Future scenario analysis and a deep geopolitical forecast”, and here is the result. Perhaps it will be helpful.

What Is BRICS?
BRICS is a geopolitical and economic bloc consisting of:
  • Brazil
  • Russia
  • India
  • China
  • South Africa
Its purpose is to create a counterweight to Western‑dominated institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and G7. BRICS promotes:
  • economic cooperation
  • multipolar world order
  • reduced dependence on the US dollar

What Does BRICS Mean for Europe?
Europe — especially the EU — is closely aligned with the US economically and politically.
The rise of BRICS challenges this Western-centered system.

Key Implications for Europe
  • Reduced global dominance of the US dollar, affecting European financial markets
  • New trade blocs that bypass Western institutions
  • Growing influence of the Global South, reducing Europe’s geopolitical leverage
  • Shift in commodity power, since BRICS nations control major resource supplies
Europe must adapt to a world where power is shifting eastward and southward.


Why Is BRICS Associated With a “Gold‑Backed” Currency?
According to the search results, BRICS has not officially launched a gold-backed currency.
However, a pilot project called “The Unit” has been developed by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IRIAS).

What the sources confirm
  • “The Unit” is described as a gold‑anchored digital trade currency
  • It is backed by 40% physical gold and 60% BRICS national currencies
  • It is designed for cross‑border trade, not for public use
  • It is not officially adopted by BRICS governments (rumors often exaggerate this)
Why Gold?
  • Gold builds trust in a new currency
  • It reduces reliance on the US dollar
  • BRICS countries hold large gold reserves
  • It supports the broader strategy of de‑dollarization

What Does This Mean for Europe?
If BRICS continues developing gold‑anchored trade systems:
  • The dollar’s dominance may weaken, indirectly affecting the euro
  • Europe may face new trade competition
  • Global financial power becomes more multipolar
  • Gold may regain importance in international settlements
Europe will need to navigate a world where Western financial dominance is no longer guaranteed.

Baseline: Where BRICS stands today
BRICS (now often discussed as “BRICS+”) is:
  • A large economic bloc: significant share of global GDP and population, strong in commodities and manufacturing
  • Focused on de‑dollarization: more trade in local currencies, alternative payment systems, exploration of common currency ideas
  • Still fragmented internally: different regimes, interests, and strategic goals
Research shows that BRICS‑led de‑dollarization is real but gradual: diversification away from the dollar, not an overnight replacement.


Scenario 1 – Gradual multipolarity (most realistic)​

Core features​

  • US dollar remains dominant, but its share of global reserves and trade slowly declines
  • More use of yuan, rupee, and other BRICS currencies in regional trade and energy deals
  • BRICS payment systems (like alternatives to SWIFT) spread among the Global South
  • A BRICS trade unit or settlement mechanism (possibly partly commodity- or gold‑linked) emerges for specific sectors (e.g. oil, gas, raw materials).

Geopolitical dynamics​

  • US & EU still powerful, but must bargain more; sanctions become less effective as countries find alternative financial rails.
  • China and India gain leverage as “system brokers” between West and non‑West.
  • Global South countries (Africa, Latin America, ASEAN) have more room to maneuver between blocs.

What this means for Europe​

  • Energy & commodity markets: More contracts not denominated in dollars → Europe must handle multi‑currency exposure.
  • Financial centers: London and Frankfurt remain key, but share space with Shanghai, Dubai, Mumbai.
  • Diplomacy: The EU is pushed to act less as a junior partner of the US and more as a balancing power between US and BRICS.
This is the “slow, messy, but peaceful” transition to a more multipolar financial order.


Scenario 2 – Block confrontation and financial fragmentation​

This scenario unfolds if tensions sharply escalate (e.g. over Taiwan, Ukraine, Middle East).

Core features​

  • Harder blocsform:
    • West: US + EU + close allies
    • BRICS/Global South: looser but increasingly coordinated coalition
  • Sanctions and countersanctions intensify: more asset freezes, export controls, tech bans.
  • BRICS countries accelerate de‑dollarization as a defensive move: more gold reserves, bilateral swap lines, regional currency arrangements.
  • Two partially separate financial systemsstart to emerge:
    • Dollar/euro‑centric
    • BRICS‑centric (yuan‑heavy, local currencies, maybe a BRICS settlement unit)

Geopolitical dynamics​

  • Trade rerouting: energy and critical minerals flow more within blocs and “friendly” corridors.
  • Risk of crises: sudden shifts in capital flows, currency volatility, debt stress in weaker states.
  • Information & narrative warfare: each side frames the other as economically unstable or predatory.

Impact on Europe​

  • Cost of conflict: Europe is geographically closest to Russia and MENA (Middle East and North Africa), so it bears high energy, migration, and security costs.
  • Strategic squeeze: If Europe aligns too tightly with US hard‑line policies, it risks losing access/influence in much of the Global South; if it hedges, it strains transatlantic relations.
  • Industrial policy pressure: Europe must choose: either double down on integrating into Western high‑tech and green value chains, or open more to BRICS markets and standards.
This is a more tense, unstable world with fractured systems, where Europe feels constantly “between fronts”.


Scenario 3 – Deeper BRICS integration and a functional BRICS currency​

This is more ambitious and longer term, but worth exploring.

Conditions needed​

  • Internal BRICS coordination improves: especially between China and India, and political stability in Brazil, South Africa, and any new members.
  • Development of:
    • A BRICS clearing system for trade settlement
    • A basket or unit of account (possibly partly linked to commodities/gold)
    • More capital market integration among BRICS members.
Research points out that a true common currency is very complex, but gradual steps (clearing units, baskets, regional payment systems) are realistic.

Features of a future BRICS financial architecture​

  • “BRICS Unit” or similar as a trade settlement unit for energy, food, and raw materials.
  • Commodity‑anchored credibility: partial backing via gold or resource index to signal stability.
  • New institutions: Expanded New Development Bank (NDB), regional funds, credit rating agencies.

For the global order​

  • The IMF/World Bank lose some monopoly in crisis lending and development financing.
  • Global South states can borrow and trade without going through the dollar system as often.
  • The US still strong, but its ability to use the dollar as a geopolitical tool is sharply reduced.

For Europe​

  • Export & investment strategy: To remain relevant, Europe must build strong frameworks with BRICS+ (standards, finance, tech cooperation).
  • Euro’s role: The euro could either:
    • join a more multipolar basket world (euro, dollar, yuan, BRICS unit), or
    • shrink in relevance if Europe is too slow or fragmented.
  • Europe has an opportunity: position the euro as a neutral “bridge currency” between the dollar and BRICS systems.

Deep geopolitical forecast: strategic trajectories​

Pulling the scenarios together, here’s a deeper forecast for the next 10–20 years.

Power structure: from unipolar to “messy multipolar”​

  • The unipolar moment of the US (1990s–2008) continues to fade.
  • We move into a system with:
    • US–China rivalry at the core
    • India as a swing power
    • Russia as a disruptive actor with energy and military leverage
    • EU as a rich but internally divided power
    • BRICS+ and Global South as rule‑shapers, not just rule‑takers.
De‑dollarization is one of the main economic tools in this new order.

Ideological dimension​

  • West: still champions liberal democracy and open markets, but often seen as hypocritical due to selective interventions and sanctions.
  • BRICS narrative: sovereignty, non‑interference, “development first”, reform of global institutions to better reflect the Global South.
  • Many countries don’t fully “join” either camp; they play both sides for maximum benefit.

Technology & currency​

  • Digital currencies (CBDCs) become key infrastructure. BRICS countries lead in experimenting with cross‑border digital settlement systems.
  • Sanctions‑resistant rails: systems designed specifically to bypass Western control (alt‑SWIFT, local‑currency trade platforms).
  • Gold & commodities: not a return to a strict gold standard, but growing use of commodity references to signal stability in trade units.

Europe’s strategic fork​

Europe faces a deep choice that will shape its identity:

Tight Atlantic alignment
  • Closer integration with US, tech and security first.
  • Risk: marginalization in Global South and dependence on US strategies.
Balancing power
  • Act as a mediator and independent pole between US and BRICS.
  • Requires more internal EU unity and strategic vision.
Fragmentation
  • Different EU states lean in different directions (US, China, Russia, BRICS).
  • Weakens euro, foreign policy, and bargaining power.
Which path Europe takes will determine whether it is a rule‑maker in the new order, or mostly a rule‑taker in a US–China–BRICS‑shaped world.

Early warning signals to watch​

If you want to track how real these scenarios are becoming, focus on:
  • Dollar share of global FX reserves and trade invoicing vs. yuan, euro, and others.
  • Share of BRICS trade settled in local currencies or a BRICS-specific unit.
  • Formal progress on “The Unit” or similar BRICS basket/unit, especially any official adoption steps.
  • Expansion and activities of the BRICS New Development Bank and related initiatives.
  • EU coherence in foreign and economic policy toward China, Russia, and the Global South.

Sources & Links

Times Now News — BRICS gold‑backed currency rumors
BRICS’ Gold-Backed Currency Hype: Why Robert Kiyosaki Is Saying ‘Bye Bye US Dollar’

Financial Express — Claims about BRICS gold‑backed currency
https://www.financialexpress.com/tr...inflation-warning-may-be-unnecessary/4067544/

Daily Hodl — Rumors about BRICS “Unit” currency
Robert Kiyosaki Says Goodbye To US Dollar As BRICS Currency Rumors Go Viral - The Daily Hodl

NewsBytes — BRICS gold‑backed currency rumor analysis
'Bye-bye US dollar!' Kiyosaki warns as BRICS currency rumors resurface

Business Today — Rumors and clarifications
‘Bye bye US dollar’: Robert Kiyosaki sounds alarm amid renewed BRICS ‘gold backed’ currency hype - BusinessToday

CCN — Explanation of the BRICS gold‑anchored “Unit”
BRICS Launched a Gold-Backed Currency — Here’s How “The Unit” Works

IntelliNews — BRICS gold‑backed digital currency pilot
BRICS launch gold-backed cryptocurrency to replace the dollar
 
From what I can see you wouldn’t even necessarily need a dedicated gold backed currency (in the sense of a currency for common interaction within a country or zone between ordinary people) “in order“, or rather, naturally, to shift things globally quite profoundly. I do think something like the UNIT might already be enough to get such a ball rolling.

It is also of note that Putin recently cautioned that when it comes to the idea of a new/common currency at least within BRICS, that it would be wise to not rush such ideas but instead think and develop such ideas very carefully without rush. No need to hurry basically.

He mentioned the Euro as a bad example of what can happen if you rush things like this.

Having said that, something like the UNIT already carries a lot of potential IMO without even being such a detailed dedicated thing. Most especially also in terms of how gold will probably be treated, valued and handled in the future, not only within BRICS, but basically globally.
 
I skimmed the paper for details on its technical implementation and found it closely mirrors current stablecoin architectures. Most altcoins now rely on Byzantine Fault‑Tolerant systems combined with Proof‑of‑Stake consensus, which implements stablecoin as a smart contract. Consequently, the industry appears to be shifting gradually from a debt‑based paradigm toward real‑world‑asset tokenization (gold + currency basket for BRICS, gold + treasuries in the US).

Now, the US is a little bit ahead in terms of legislation (pushed hard by the technocratic Trump team) and technology (which is proven, as just recently Cardano/ADA survived an attack that could take it down), but it's a matter of time before the rest of the world will catch up. So, will they push a reset button soon to wreck the current system and try to impose what they have on the world?
 
My uneducated guess would be that the “test phase“ before going “live“ will probably take quite a while. It could also be that in the process before it goes live they will readjust and/or rethink a number of parameters.
 
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