The BRICS bloc is rewriting economic rules, expanding beyond its original five members and pressing a movement toward de dollarization that could unsettle global power balances. What began as a forum for emerging markets is now positioning itself as a rival to dollar-centric financial norms. With new members from the Global South joining, voices within BRICS are pushing for trade in local currencies, alternative payment networks, and perhaps even a shared currency.
This shift matters because it challenges the core of the post-World War II monetary order. The U.S. dollar has long enjoyed privilege as the dominant reserve and settlement currency. Many international contracts, commodities trading, and public debts remain dollar denominated. But when a rising bloc says it wants to bypass that dominance, it invites economic and political turbulence. BRICS expansion isn’t merely symbolic. It rounds up more economies that share grievances against a system constraining their autonomy, especially those under sanctions or facing capital flow volatility.
Inside BRICS the thirst for a new payment architecture is already evident. BRICS Pay, a decentralized payments messaging network designed to shuttle transactions in local currencies, exemplifies this ambition. Rather than rerouting around the dollar immediately, the strategy is gradual: foster settlements in rupees, reals, rials, and other currencies. Over time, as trust and volume accumulate, the dollar’s centrality erodes. For nations large and small this approach offers a hedge, lowering their exposure to U.S. monetary policy, exchange rate shifts, or financial weaponization.
In practice de dollarization comes with risk and complexity. Economies tied deeply to dollar liquidity those with huge external debts, foreign reserve buffers, or trade denominated in dollars could feel short term strain. Currency volatility might rise, transaction costs may climb, and adjusting regulatory, tech, and legal infrastructure poses a heavy lift. Some BRICS states want to proceed cautiously. India, for example, has signaled that de dollarization is not its core agenda, even as it supports trading with partners using local currencies.
Still, shifting power doesn’t happen overnight. For now the impact is incremental. Countries beginning to settle parts of their trade in non-dollar currencies are sending a message: alternative systems matter. As the bloc grows in size and scope, its unified bargaining on institutions like the IMF or World Bank gains weight. At the 2025 summit in Rio, BRICS finance ministers pushed for quota reforms of global financial institutions, seeking voting power more aligned with economic weight.
Those at the center of this transformation don’t pretend it will be frictionless. But the narrative of a multipolar world is gaining credibility, especially among nations that long felt sidelined. If BRICS plays its cards well, it may not upend the dollar tomorrow but it could chip away at assumptions behind global finance, shifting the axis of influence.
To critics, the scale of the dollar’s reach makes dethronement improbable. The depth and liquidity of U.S. financial markets, the global trust in dollar assets, and the dollar’s intertwined role in capital flows are formidable barriers. But BRICS no longer simply reacts. It now aspires. As nations deepen trade in local currencies, expand payments alternatives, reimagine reserve strategies, and push institutional reform, they are rewriting conversations about sovereignty, parity, and influence. The question is no longer whether the dollar will change but whether the world built around it is ready to.
