- The BRICS is testing “The Unit,” a gold- and currency-backed settlement unit for cross-border payments.
- This is a mini-pilot test for a settlement instrument, not direct competition to the US dollar.
At the turn of the year, a pilot project around a new accounting unit called “The Unit” is causing fresh speculation about a possible BRICS alternative to the US dollar. According to several reports, this is not a classic consumer currency, but rather an experimental settlement instrument intended to test cross-border payments, as CNF reported in December.
Two of the most successful German podcasters, Kiarash Hossainpour (“Hoss”) and Philip Hopf, pointed out in anPost on January 1st on the development. It says:
“The BRICS countries have launched a pilot project for a new currency called ‘The Unit’. This unit is backed 40 percent by physical gold and 60 percent by national currencies of member countries. Each unit is pegged to the value of one gram of gold, with the daily value fluctuating based on exchange rates.”
BRICS relies on the blockchain for test runs
Notably, the system is “based on a digital platform with blockchain technology and serves as a test for cross-border payments,” as Hoss and Hopf further note. Only 100 units have been issued so far. A full rollout has not yet been announced.
This is exactly where the question marks begin. The Jerusalem Post reported on December 8, 2025 on a “unit” concept as a gold-backed settlement variable, which essentially amounts to mixed coverage (gold plus a basket of currencies).
Fisher Investments formulated However, he is unusually open about his skepticism about the validity of the underlying “test” claims and points out that it is only a settlement tool and not a new currency:
“For one thing, ‘The Unit’ is not a real currency like the US dollar or the euro (assuming the story is even true!). You can’t buy anything with it.”
Several reports also assign the project to the IRIAS (International Research Institute for Advanced Systems) and describe its status as a pilot phase that has not yet been adopted as an official system by BRICS central banks or the New Development Bank.
For the crypto market, the news is less relevant because of its immediate impact, but rather as a further signal: geopolitical blocks continue to experiment with blockchain-supported settlement, but Bitcoin, Ethereum or even XRP (according to previous speculation) do not play a role according to the information that has been made public so far
Whether “The Unit” has a future is questionable. According to a JD Supra-Analyse In December, the BRICS summit in July 2025 (Rio de Janeiro) did not bring any concrete progress towards the common currency; There was no mention of this in the final declaration.
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