The global monetary system is built on trust—trust in institutions, in liquidity, and ultimately in the U.S. dollar. For decades, that trust has anchored global trade, finance, and reserves. But in late 2025, a small yet symbolically powerful experiment suggested that some of the world’s largest emerging economies are actively preparing for a future beyond dollar dominance.
That experiment is called “The Unit.”
Piloted by a Russian-linked research institute and discussed in BRICS-aligned policy circles, The Unit is a digital settlement instrument partially backed by gold and designed to operate outside the U.S.-centric financial architecture—specifically, beyond the dollar and the SWIFT messaging system. Its emergence has reignited an old but unresolved question: are we witnessing the early return of collateral-based money, or is this merely an overhyped paper tiger?
What Exactly Is “The Unit”?
Despite the headlines, The Unit is not a new BRICS currency. There are no BRICS banknotes, no wallets for consumers, and no formal adoption by BRICS governments or central banks. Instead, it is best understood as a unit of account for cross-border trade settlements.
Launched as a small prototype in late October 2025 by the International Research Institute for Advanced Systems (IRIAS), the pilot reportedly issued just 100 Units, each initially linked to roughly one gram of gold in value.
Its defining features are striking:
Partial gold anchoring: About 40% of the Unit’s value is tied to physical gold, measured by weight.
Currency basket component: The remaining 60% reflects a basket of BRICS national currencies, including the yuan, ruble, rupee, real, and rand, with scope for additional BRICS+ members.
Blockchain-based settlement: Built on a permissioned blockchain, the system aims to provide transparency, auditability, and faster settlement without relying on Western financial rails.
Settlement, not circulation: Trade contracts can be denominated in Units, but final settlement occurs in gold or local currencies, not in a new digital coin spent by businesses or individuals.
In essence, The Unit is a pricing and settlement bridge—an accounting layer designed to bypass the dollar without requiring BRICS to agree on a single shared currency.
Why BRICS Is Even Exploring This
To understand why The Unit matters, one must look beyond technology and toward geopolitics.
Since 2022, the use of financial sanctions, asset freezes, and SWIFT exclusions has transformed money itself into a geopolitical weapon. For many countries—particularly Russia, Iran, and others facing Western pressure—the dollar system no longer looks neutral. Even nations not under sanctions worry about future vulnerability.
At the same time, BRICS trade has grown rapidly, especially in energy, commodities, and infrastructure. Increasingly, these transactions are settled in local currencies, not dollars. Central banks across the BRICS bloc have also been aggressively accumulating gold, collectively holding thousands of tonnes.
Seen in this context, The Unit is not an isolated experiment. It is part of a broader strategy to:
Reduce exposure to dollar-based payment systems
Create sanction-resistant trade mechanisms
Anchor value to real assets rather than pure fiat credit
Strengthen South–South economic integration
Gold, in this framework, is not nostalgia—it is insurance.
Is This a Return to Collateral-Based Money?
Partially—but cautiously.
The gold component of The Unit introduces a collateral anchor rarely seen in modern monetary experiments. Unlike fiat currencies backed primarily by state credibility and debt markets, this system explicitly ties part of its value to a tangible asset with no counterparty risk.
That is a meaningful philosophical shift. It reflects growing discomfort with unlimited monetary expansion, rising sovereign debt, and inflationary pressures in advanced economies.
However, it would be a mistake to call this a new gold standard.
Only 40% of the Unit is gold-linked
The value floats daily, adjusting to markets
There is no universal convertibility
There is no guarantee of scale
What it represents is not a rejection of fiat money, but a hybrid approach—a blend of asset backing and currency diversification designed for settlement efficiency rather than monetary replacement.
Why Critics Call It a “Paper Tiger”
Despite the excitement in alternative finance circles, skepticism is warranted.
First, scale is minuscule. A 100-unit pilot proves technical feasibility, not systemic relevance.
Second, there is no official BRICS mandate. Major members, particularly Brazil and India, have repeatedly emphasized that they do not seek to replace the dollar or introduce a common BRICS currency. Internal divisions—especially concerns about Chinese or Russian dominance—remain significant.
Third, the dollar’s structural advantages remain overwhelming:
Deep and liquid capital markets
Global trust and legal infrastructure
Network effects built over decades
Nearly 90% of global foreign exchange transactions still involve the U.S. dollar. No experimental settlement unit can replicate that overnight.
For now, The Unit exists more as a signal than a threat.
Why the Signal Still Matters
History shows that monetary systems rarely collapse suddenly. They erode at the margins.
The British pound did not lose reserve status in one dramatic event—it declined gradually as alternatives emerged. Similarly, the dollar’s dominance is unlikely to vanish, but its monopoly is already weakening.
The Unit matters because it demonstrates three things:
De-dollarization is operational, not theoretical
Gold is quietly returning to monetary relevance
Future money may be modular, multipolar, and hybrid
Even if The Unit never scales, it provides a blueprint—one that others may refine, formalize, or expand.
Verdict: Crack, Not Collapse
So, is this a real shift toward collateral-based money or just a paper tiger?
The honest answer is: both.
The Unit is too small, unofficial, and politically fragmented to challenge the dollar today. But it is also too real to dismiss as fantasy. It reflects a world preparing for monetary pluralism, where trade can be settled through multiple systems, assets, and standards.
The dollar remains king—for now. But the cracks in its armor are no longer hypothetical. They are being tested, coded, and quietly piloted.
And history suggests that once alternatives exist, trust no longer has only one home.
