Russian Senate Leader Anticipates Use of CBDCs in BRICS Payment System
Valentina Matvienko, the Chairman of the Russian Federation Council, has discussed the potential use of national digital currencies, also known as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), in the development of a joint payment system for the BRICS countries. Matvienko believes that a digital payment system, referred to as the BRICS bridge, could leverage the digital currencies of all member states to facilitate decentralized trading transactions. This would ensure that no participant has the ability to restrict the actions of others within the system. To achieve this, however, collaborative legislative efforts would be needed to introduce the circulation of these currencies within the BRICS countries and regulate their use in cross-border payments. The aim of implementing such a system is to increase the use, efficiency, and safety of national currencies among the BRICS nations, particularly in response to sanctions imposed by Western countries that have reduced the use of certain currencies by half over the past year.