Interest in BRICS is expanding as more countries are now showing interest.
The goal is to displace the US Dollar, a feat proponents believe Bitcoin can handle.

The price of the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) continues to grow as the BRICS gains more attention from several nations. At the time of this writing, BTC was trading at a price of $29,887.56, according to data from Marketcap.

As of Thursday, July 20th, over 40 countries have indicated interest to join the group of formidable world economies which consist of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. According to Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s ambassador to the bloc, 22 of these nations have submitted an official application to become a member of BRICS.

Sooklal was present with some officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs in a meeting with journalists in Johannesburg when he made this announcement.

This was a day after it was confirmed by South Africa who is the host of this year’s event that Russia’s president Vladimir Putin would not be attending the next BRICS summit scheduled to be held between August 22nd and 24th. Markedly, one of the top agenda of the summit is to discuss how well and fast the bloc plans to expand its union to include other interested nations.

Some of the interested countries are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Egypt, Bahrain, and Indonesia.

Generally, the BRICS is a collection of nations that have similar economic interests and one of such is the perceived hegemony of the United States and other Western countries in global affairs. The bloc formerly was known as BRIC when South Africa was not yet a member. South Africa joined the group in 2010, one year after it was officially established. Collectively, all member nations of BRICS are focused on combating the dominance and absolute reliance on the U.S. Dollar.

Bitcoin May be an Alternative For BRICS

To achieve this replacement of the dollar, BRICS has been searching for other alternatives and is now considering issuing a global currency.

Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, revealed that BRICS members and other interested countries are questioning the necessity of relying on the U.S. dollar for their transactions, especially in cross-border payments.

With the reduction of reliance on the U.S. dollar being the focal point for the group at this time, many nations who require similar liberation are now clamoring to be a member of the bloc. Pandor previously ascertained that the BRICS nations are busy creating guidelines to attend to the rising interest in the bloc.

It is perceived that Bitcoin may be an alternative choice for the BRICS nations seeing that it has the potential to serve as a reserve asset for countries and it would invariably deliver decentralization from the Dollar. Many believe that achieving this feat would reduce currency risks and economic instability, and in the long run, provide a hedge against traditional financial systems.

Apart from talks about the U.S. dollar, BRICS assists member states to localize their production abilities, supporting the development of regional value chains, and financing their infrastructure needs through its works with New BRICS Development Bank. In this role, proponents in the crypto ecosystem believe Bitcoin can aid in achieving this push.

---

Filed under: Bitcoin - @ July 23, 2023 10:17 am