BRICS Debuts Gold-Backed Digital Currency “Unit” with a 40% Gold, 60% BRICS Currencies Reserve as a De-Dollarization Push

BRICS has developed a working prototype of a gold-backed trade currency named Unit, according to COINOTAG News via Intellinews and the Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IRIAS). The digital instrument relies on a reserve basket comprising 40% physical gold and 60% BRICS currencies: the Brazilian Real, Chinese Yuan, Indian Rupee, Russian Ruble, and South African Rand.

IRIAS initiated the pilot by issuing 100 Units on October 31, pegged initially at 1 gram of gold per Unit. While not yet formal policy, the framework aims at de-dollarization by letting the Unit track currency performance against gold. As of December 4, the basket’s value equates to 98.23 grams of gold, placing each Unit at 0.9823 grams.

Analysts view the prototype as a structured hedging tool and a potential non-dollar avenue for cross-border trade settlements, pending regulatory clarity and liquidity support. If scaled, this digital asset could influence BRICS-linked currency exposure strategies and risk management for market participants.