The BRICS grouping has officially launched its Gold-backed UNIT payment system. The bloc has increased its investments in Gold over the last several years, advancing its de-dollarization initiative. UNIT represents one of the clearest formal attempts to engineer a basket-backed, collateral-anchored settlement instrument intended specifically for wholesale, cross-border trade in a multipolar financial world.

UNIT would enable member countries to trade gold, platinum, and rare earth minerals outside Western-controlled platforms. The system includes eleven full participants with twenty-two additional countries in application stages, building an infrastructure that facilitates dollar-free commerce backed by physical gold rather than US dollar. “UNIT reflects the rise of collateral-anchored settlement instruments and the geopolitical bifurcation of global payments into bloc-based parallel monetary systems,” one BRICS analyst said on X.

BRICS’ gold strategy is clearly visible in how the nations are buying gold. Brazil added 16 metric tonnes in September 2025, marking its first purchase since 2021. IMF data showed reserves moving from 129.7 tonnes to 145.1 tonnes. Russia leads with 2,336 tonnes, China holds 2,298, and India holds 880 tonnes. Central banks globally purchased over 1,000 tonnes annually from 2022 through 2024, which is actually the longest such streak in modern history.

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According to analyst Jim Rickards of Insider Intel, “The formula for valuing the Unit is 40% gold (by weight) and 60% based on a basket of BRICS currencies.” Rickards also anticipates that “the BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB) based in Shanghai will be the issuer of Units,” although these details have not been confirmed. While the grouping has been secretive of any updates, insiders suggest Unit will have two value components, and by attaching a commodity to the value, it will not be a fiat currency like the dollar.