As India assumes the BRICS presidency for 2026, the bloc is shifting from talk to action on a long-standing agenda: financial cooperation, tech governance, and reducing reliance on the US dollar. Under India’s banner—“Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability”—New Delhi will host the 18th BRICS Summit in August or September 2026, and member states are accelerating concrete deployments that matter for crypto and cross-border payments. De-dollarization moving from plan to rollout BRICS members have moved beyond blueprints toward operational alternatives to dollar-dominated settlement. A prominent example is “The Unit,” a cross-border payment construct that entered a 100-unit pilot phase on October 31, 2025, designed to facilitate trade without dollar intermediation. Meanwhile, BRICS Pay and other alternative rails are already changing settlement patterns: BRICS Pay has reportedly cut USD usage in intra-bloc trade by roughly two-thirds to date, and Russia said in 2024 that about 90% of its trade within the bloc was conducted in national currencies. CBDC interoperability and payment-system alternatives Russia, China and India are targeting 2026–2027 for interoperability between their central bank digital currencies—the digital ruble, yuan and rupee—part of an effort to create an alternative to SWIFT-style dollar clearing. Those CBDC linkages, if realized, would be a major step toward frictionless local-currency settlement across BRICS economies and could reshape how trade is financed and settled in the region. New Development Bank, capital flows and gold The New Development Bank is pushing for deeper local-currency finance by aiming for one-third of its loans to be denominated in member states’ domestic currencies by 2026. At the same time, BRICS nations are actively reducing holdings of US Treasuries and increasing gold reserves—a trend accompanied by reports that the alliance now controls an estimated 50% of global gold production. These moves, combined with local-currency trade growth, are central to analysts’ characterization of the bloc’s strategy as “De-dollarization 2.0.” India’s stated posture and political context India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar framed the approach in March 2025 as pragmatic: “I don’t think there’s any policy on our part to replace the dollar. The dollar as the reserve currency is the source of global economic stability, and right now what we want in the world is more economic stability, not less.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasized continuity with India’s G20 themes—centering the Global South and a “people-centric” agenda—while steering BRICS toward resilience and innovation. AI governance and tech sovereignty Technology governance is another central pillar of BRICS 2026. India has pushed an “AI for All” ethos, with Modi noting that AI should “enhance human values and capabilities” and that governance needs to balance addressing risks and encouraging innovation. The bloc is seeking frameworks that let member states shape AI standards—aiming for technology sovereignty and digital cooperation rather than uncritically adopting Western regimes. Sustainability, energy and investment guarantees Beyond payments and AI, BRICS 2026 will cover sustainable development, climate action and energy transition, while expanding financial cooperation to include instruments such as investment guarantees for development projects. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla reaffirmed India’s commitment to a productive summit, thanking Brazil’s parliament and noting that “the agenda will be set for the Summit in India.” Challenges and market outlook Despite the momentum, significant obstacles remain. Market depth, divergent national interests and internal divisions mean the US dollar is likely to remain the dominant reserve currency in the near term. Still, the perceived “weaponization” of the dollar via sanctions is a key driver pushing nations toward alternatives: JPMorgan analysts held a net bearish view for the dollar in 2026, anticipating further weakening as these dynamics accelerate. What this means for crypto and payments For crypto markets and payments innovators, BRICS’ moves matter. Broader adoption of local-currency rails, CBDC interoperability, and reduced dollar dependence could open demand for tokenized settlement rails, stablecoins pegged to local currencies, and cross-border rails that interface with CBDCs and alternative payment systems. At minimum, the bloc’s technical deployments (The Unit pilot, BRICS Pay expansion and CBDC linkages) signal an era where digital, non-dollar settlement infrastructures will receive greater policy and financial backing. Bottom line Under India’s presidency, BRICS 2026 is shaping up to be a year of implementation—deploying payment alternatives, deepening local-currency finance, and asserting influence on AI governance and sustainability. The stakes are geopolitical and financial: whether these measures evolve into a viable long-term alternative to dollar-based settlement will depend on execution, market depth and the bloc’s ability to bridge internal differences. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

#BTC #CBDC #AI