Headline: BRICS Drives a Gold Rush — 663 tonnes Bought in 2025, Launches Gold-Backed “Unit” on Cardano to Power Cross-Border Settlement Lead: BRICS nations stepped up gold accumulation in 2025, buying 663 metric tonnes (about $91 billion) in the first nine months alone, the World Gold Council reports. Combined BRICS central bank reserves now total 6,026 tonnes — and purchases continued even as bullion hit record levels, underscoring a strategic shift toward de-dollarization and new digital settlement rails. What happened - Heavy central-bank buying: BRICS acquisitions reached 663 tonnes in Jan–Sept 2025, and global central-bank gold purchases jumped 41% in Q2 (166 tonnes). The trend has accelerated major reserve programs and reshaped central-bank strategies. - Who holds what: Russia leads with 2,336 tonnes, China 2,298 tonnes, and India 880 tonnes. Brazil made its first buy since 2021, lifting reserves from 129.7 to 145.1 tonnes by September. - Reserve mix changes: BRICS’ strategy has doubled gold’s share of reserves from 6.4% to 12.9% by Q3 2025 — a 102% increase over five years. Gold prices surged in response, peaking at $4,381/oz in October and trading in the $4,200–$4,300 range afterwards. - Dollar’s decline: The US dollar’s share of global FX reserves fell to 56.32% in Q2 2025 — its lowest level in three decades — coinciding with BRICS reserve growth and adoption of alternative payment systems. Digital settlement: The gold-backed BRICS Unit on Cardano - On November 10, 2025, BRICS launched “The Unit” via the International Research Institute for Advanced Systems on the Cardano blockchain. The Unit is a digital, gold-backed currency instrument pegged 40% to physical gold and 60% to BRICS currencies, designed for cross-border trade among member states. - The launch signals deliberate integration of tokenized, commodity-backed instruments into national and regional settlement frameworks. BRICS’ move onto Cardano highlights how blockchain can be used to create interoperable, auditable rails for multi-currency and commodity-linked settlement. Industry reaction - Frank Giustra, Canadian mining financier, warned at the Precious Metals Summit in Beaver Creek: “We’re now, believe it or not, in the era of hard money. If you own paper gold, you do not own gold. When the crunch comes, it will not be there.” He added: “Everybody’s scrambling to get physical gold onto their own territory. This time is going to be chaotic.” - Observers see the BRICS Unit and related initiatives — including platforms like mBridge — as turning gold from a passive reserve asset into an active tool for trade and settlement. Why crypto markets should care - Tokenization and on-chain settlement: By minting a gold-backed digital unit on Cardano, BRICS are advancing a model where commodity-backed instruments can be used directly in cross-border payments, potentially reducing reliance on correspondent banking and the US dollar. - Implications for stablecoins and CBDCs: The Unit’s mixed peg (gold + BRICS currencies) is an innovative hybrid that could influence designs for future stablecoins and CBDC interoperability, especially in emerging-market corridors. - Market dynamics: Large-scale central-bank gold buying and a declining dollar share in reserves may increase volatility and reshape hedging strategies for crypto and commodity-linked tokens. Bottom line: BRICS’ aggressive gold accumulation and the launch of a gold-backed digital Unit on Cardano mark a significant step toward de-dollarized, blockchain-enabled settlement systems. For crypto markets, the shift underlines growing institutional interest in tokenized commodities and alternative payment rails — a development that could accelerate new on-chain instruments for cross-border trade. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

#CBDC