The BRICS Finance Committee is discussing a joint virtual currency for the five nation bloc of developing economies, The Cointelegraph reports.
The Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev has stated that the BRICS may opt to create their own cryptocurrency for the purposes of global commerce.
"While there is a focus on settlements in national currencies, cryptocurrencies are also being discussed as one of the possible settlement mechanisms," Dmitriev explained at the BRICS Summit in Xiamen.
He added that within BRICS cryptocurrencies could replace the US dollar and other currencies used in settlements among the member states.
BRICS to switch to national currency settlement soon - VTB head http://t.co/mrU1YXsrQW via @RT_com pic.twitter.com/mfQ05erkMU
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“The use of local currencies will help promote mutually beneficial economic cooperation, mitigate currency risks, increase trade, and facilitate companies in accessing the BRICS markets,” said Russia’s Vnesheconombank board member Nikolay Tsekhomsky.
Russia itself is busy preparing its own centralized cryptocurrency, which has been informally dubbed the “BitRuble” or “CryptoRuble.”