BRICS Currencies to Have No Alternative, Former Russian President Medvedev Says

Fiat currencies of BRICS member states will have no alternative in the future, according to former President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev. Nations in the bloc need to think about their digital forms and a digital currency issued by the group as a whole, the Russian politician said.

Russia’s former head of state, Dmitry Medvedev, does not rule out the collapse of the common European currency and a return to national fiats on the Old Continent. “It is absolutely certain that financial shocks in Europe will not keep you waiting,” he was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.

The euro, already not too resistant to external influences, has started losing its role as a universal means of payment, Medvedev pointed out. Therefore, it is likely that Europe will return back to “the system of financial patchwork with national currencies. Well, then goodbye euro, hello mark, lira, and French franc,” he added.

Dmitry Medvedev, who serves as the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation since 2020, was speaking during the “Knowledge. First” educational marathon which he was invited to attend. He further elaborated:

In this case, the ruble, yuan, Indian rupee, other currencies of the BRICS countries will have no alternative in the future.

Medvedev emphasized that the group of leading developing economies needs to think about the digital formats of their national currencies as well as about a digital currency issued by BRICS itself. “The leaders of our organization are now talking about it,” he noted.

The BRICS bloc, which currently consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, will hold a summit in Cape Town, South Africa in early June to discuss proposals for enlargement, among other major topics.

The latest statements of Medvedev, who is the leader of the ruling United Russia party, come after in late December he predicted that the U.S. dollar will be losing its status of global reserve currency in 2023, amid the increasing spread of digital currencies.

Russia has been working on a digital ruble and a new payment system that officials claim will not restrict digital currency payments. Pressed by Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow also intends to legalize crypto payments in international settlements as part of its de-dollarization attempts.

Do you expect BRICS currencies to challenge the leading roles of the U.S. dollar and the euro in the near future? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.