Putin names digital assets in BRICS' push off the dollar

Russian President Vladimir Putin used a keynote address at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 5 to frame digital financial assets and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as core tools in BRICS nations' push away from the US dollar and euro.

Sanctions Risk Driving the Shift

Speaking at the plenary session, Putin argued that Western-led sanctions have fundamentally undermined confidence in the dollar and euro as reserve currencies. He told the audience that "every country without exception" now understands it could "at any moment lose access to assets lawfully held in dollars or euros, as well as to Western financial and payment infrastructure." For Putin, that vulnerability is not a theoretical risk. Russia has had hundreds of billions in foreign reserves frozen since 2022, and he used that episode to make the case that no country is immune.

The Russian president said countries are increasingly settling trade in their own national currencies rather than relying on the dollar or euro, pointing to alternative payment systems, digital financial assets, and CBDCs as examples of that trend. Putin also disclosed that national currencies now account for around 90% of settlements between Russia and other BRICS members, saying the ruble and currencies of "friendly countries" made up that share of Russia's BRICS trade in 2024.

BRICS Economic Weight Backs the Argument

Putin cited IMF and World Bank data to underscore the bloc's growing clout, noting that BRICS countries accounted for 49% of global GDP growth over the past five years, versus 18% for the G7, generating two percentage points of the world's average annual 4.1% expansion compared with just 0.8 points from the G7.

BRICS de-dollarization efforts in 2026 are pushing forward through alternative payment systems rather than a single common currency. Infrastructure such as BRICS Pay has been connecting national networks including Russia's SPFS, China's CIPS, and India's UPI, while systems like mBridge enable instant central-bank payments across China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE using digital national currencies.

Putin's decision to put digital assets alongside CBDCs and national currencies in the same policy framework is notable. It signals that the Kremlin views the broader digital finance space, not just state-issued instruments, as relevant to building financial rails that sidestep Western infrastructure.

Sources:
News Karnataka: Putin says BRICS driving shift away from dollar-dominated system
Watcher Guru: BRICS De-Dollarization in 2026
Russia's Pivot to Asia: Putin's Speech at SPIEF 2026, Full Content and Detailed Analysis