Can BRICS build something with Bitcoin?

Written as a City A.M. column in May 2023, the piece explains BRICS, the group formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009 and joined by South Africa in 2010, with Saudi Arabia reported to be looking to join. It discusses the group’s reported plans for a currency backed by gold, oil and other commodities, intended to reduce reliance on the US dollar, and notes efforts by members to increase their gold reserves.

The column questions how practical a commodity-backed currency would be, because members would need to trust that reserves existed in the stated quality and quantity, raising the question of who would audit China’s gold or Russia’s oil. It also argues that physical commodities could not be carbon neutral. As an alternative, it proposes a bitcoin standard as transparent, secure and decentralised, and asks whether the BRICS nations or the US might embrace bitcoin first.