Over the past several years, CoinGeek has been reporting on how BRICS is challenging the existing world order and financial system.

While the hype about a BRICS digital currency didn’t come to anything at this year’s summit in Kazan, the alliance’s nations made one thing abundantly clear: it’s full-steam ahead on de-dollarization and alternatives to the Western financial system.

So far, in 2025, we’ve seen Russia calling the G7 outdated and signaling that it will focus on the G20, SCO, and BRICS. ASEAN nations like Thailand and Malaysia also lean into the China-led block to diversify their economies. Turkey, the bridge between Asia and Europe, has repeatedly chastised the EU for being exclusionary while praising BRICS’ inclusivity.

With all of this happening amidst a fast-paced shift in the United States’ global role, let’s unpack what it means, how it could shape geopolitics, and what it could mean for blockchain, digital currencies, and payments in the years and decades ahead.

Russia’s strategic realignment

Russia has always been the most outspoken nation, calling for a challenge from the Western-led system. It has repeatedly called out the West’s double standards, called its freezing of $300 billion of Russian assets theft, and has led the charge on de-dollarization.

In February, Russia made clear it would prioritize the G20, SCO, and BRICS nations going forward. Russia’s ambassador to Canada, Oleg Stepanov, told Tass, “We are particularly focused on the BRICS, SCO, and G20 platforms,” dismissing the idea that Russia would return to the G7.

Stepanov argued that the G7 no longer plays a significant role in world affairs. That’s an overstatement; the G7 makes up close to 30% of global GDP. A skeptic would interpret this as Russia saying, “You can’t exclude me because I refuse to join.” In any case, it signals that Russia will lean into existing alliances rather than seek to make amends with the West after the Ukraine war is settled.

While Vladimir Putin has previously said a BRICS single currency is premature, Russia has shown openness to blockchain technology and digital currencies. With these nations looking to leapfrog and bypass the West, this tech will likely form part of whatever the BRICS payments system looks like.

ASEAN: walking a geopolitical tightrope

ASEAN nations, which include Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos, Brunei, the Philippines, and Indonesia, have also leaned into BRICS recently. Indonesia officially joined the block in January, adding another fast-growing economy and 280 million people into the alliance.

These nations have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the past decade. Laos, a country which this author visited 15 years ago when it had to be navigated by boat due to the lack of roads, now has functional high-speed railways, and the GDP of each nation is growing quickly.

Nonetheless, ASEAN has to walk a geopolitical tightrope. The Philippines, in particular, leans toward the USA and has an ongoing dispute with China over territory it claims has been illegally seized.

In the end, there’s zero doubt that ASEAN nations will be part of any BRICS cross-border payment system. Thailand has made Bitcoin payments legal in Phuket, Cambodia already has a blockchain-based payment system, and Indonesia is developing a digital Rupiah central bank digital currency (CBDC) while advocating for regional integration. These are all clues as to what the eventual BRICS payment system will look like.

Turkey is playing giants off each other

It’s no secret that Turkey wants to join the European Union. However, it has repeatedly been told it doesn’t meet the standards regarding human rights, the rule of law, and how its political system operates.

The changing role of the United States

If one thing has become clear since Donald Trump became President in January: the American-led order the world has operated under since 1945 is over. Trump hasn’t made any bones about it; the USA is done playing the world’s policeman, won’t subsidize anyone’s defense, and isn’t interested in upholding the order or institutions it created after World War 2.

If there was any room for denial about that, it was put to bed when the United States voted with Russia and North Korea in the United Nations, refusing to blame Russia for the war in Ukraine. Things have changed forever.

Yet, it’s difficult to read what Trump’s larger plan is. He has placed tariffs on historical allies and foes alike, has demanded BRICS keep using the USD as a reserve currency, and at the same time, has vowed to close trade deficits with China, Canada, Mexico, and the EU. Closing trade deficits, the primary way these countries obtain U.S. Dollars to use as reserves, seems contradictory.

Is Trump a mad king who has seized the reigns of the United States and will drive it into the rocks, or is he a 5D chess player with a master plan? Time will tell, but in any case, there are significant changes for global trade and the world systems we have all taken for granted. So far, Trump’s actions have only caused mild panic and growing defiance in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere, making nations that previously sat in the palm of Uncle Sam’s hand seek out new trade and defense alliances.

This could speed up de-dollarization, cause smaller nations to lean toward China, India, and the European Union for trade deals, and ultimately hasten the ascension of BRICS and its leader: China. Always the quiet man in the BRICS alliance, the Middle Kingdom is only too happy to step in and fill the void America’s withdrawal has left.

What does all of this mean for blockchain and digital currencies?

If the past decade has taught us anything, it’s that nobody can predict the future with any degree of accuracy. Massive changes are occurring so quickly that it’s difficult to say what the world will look like next year, let alone in five or ten.

However, there’s little doubt that blockchain, stablecoins and CBDCs will play a more prominent role in the world, come what may. As outlined earlier, BRICS nations are leaning heavily toward this technology, seeing blockchains, distributed ledgers, and digital currencies as ways to leapfrog the West and facilitate smoother trade.

What will that mean for the nations that adopt it? Lower trade friction, less paid out in fees, greater transparency, reduced corruption, and faster economic growth. All of this is positive and will enhance living standards and the quality of life for citizens of these nations.

Going forward, there’s no telling what the political order will look like, but payment and cross-border settlement systems will almost certainly involve scalable blockchains and digital currencies. The nations that move fastest will reap the biggest rewards.

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