BRICS an inter-governmental organisation comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa founded in 2009 as a organisation of countries that share a 37% stronghold of total GDP of the world as compared to the 30% of the G7 countries with that exactly being the purpose of the group of being an alternative to the g7 which is a group of countries like Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union. The G7 has had an annual meet ever since its formation in 2009 and in the latest one held in Kazakhstan on October 2024 they made an announcement regarding their long speculated "BRICS Currency".
The BRICS currency was brought in with one idea in mind. It was supposed to be an alternative to the gold backed alternative to the United States Dollar (USD) that can be used in trade between the BRICS countries. Though on the surface this might seem like a good idea as to bring in a competition to the USD on further thinking it only seems to more of a liability than an actual replacement to the mighty dollar.
First things aside even though BRICS might want to be an alternative to the G7 it is constantly being plagued by infighting among its own members. China, one of BRICS richest members and India, BRICS's most Populus members have been at odds since a long time. This began with China's intrusion into Kashmir over the Aksai Chin, with building of bases and military infrastructure close to the border and attacking Indian army personnel. India has responded to this by banning the popular Chinese social media app Tik-Tok and several other apps and companies from selling their services in their country. this all came to a diplomatic confrontation when China released a new map highlighting some of India's territories as it own.
Russia has usually acted as a mediator in these fights between India and China it light of current circumstances it is finding it highly problematic to take decisions for each side. Since the start of the Ukraine war and the subsequent mountain of sanctions levied against it India and China are the biggest backstage supporters of Russia there is. while China supplies Russia with black market micro-processors and monetary assistance through its bank, India has turned into Russia's biggest importer of Oil and petroleum products hence putting more pressure on Russia to not interfere in the diplomatic squabble between India and China so as to not lose either country as support.
The problems with the BRICS currency goes far beyond geopolitics though but comes down to financial as well. Even though they aimed for a solution for the USD problem they only ended up creating yet another currency that BRICS countries will have to hold onto rather than an alternative. especially if they do plan to go all out with it, it will take a lot not only to stabilize the new currency but also to make it more convenient to use by other countries. the reason why USD holds its value even after decades of operation is because it is reliable and is backed by a stable economy. comparing that to the BRICS currency the only economy backing the new currency is the Russian Ruble that has gone from 50 Rubles to a Dollar 2 years ago to 100 Rubles to a Dollar in this day and age. even the Indian Rupee has been falling when compared to the dollar in the past 15 years. The Chinese Yen is the only stable currency backing the BRICS currency and even that has not been without its fair share of troubles.
According to my opinion BRICS currency was something that was not supposed to exist in the first place. it might have great optics when introduced to an International audience especially under the backing of "The Dollar Killer" but it does not live up to the hype when it matters the most. It was launched by a group that cant keep its own members in check and backed by a unstable economies. the best plan of action for BRICS would have been to use local currencies for trade but they chose to go the alternative path. If the BRICS currency does come into fruition and if nothing is does to stabilize and popularize the currency it could end up hurting the countries that hoard the new currency and act as a whole new liability they will need to deal with.
