PANews reported on December 8th, citing the Institute of Economic Strategy of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IRIAS), that the BRICS countries have launched a working prototype of a gold-backed trade currency called "Unit." This is a digital trading instrument backed by a reserve basket comprising 40% physical gold and 60% BRICS currencies, with the Brazilian Real, Chinese Yuan, Indian Rupee, Russian Ruble, and South African Rand having equal weights. The pilot project was initiated by IRIAS, which issued 100 Units on October 31st, each initially pegged to 1 gram of gold. Although this initiative is not yet official policy, its existence is a direct step towards de-dollarization. The value of "Unit" is designed to fluctuate daily based on the exchange rate of its constituent currencies against gold. As of December 4th, market fluctuations had adjusted the value of the reserve basket to the equivalent of 98.23 grams of gold, effectively making each unit worth 0.9823 grams of gold.

Crypto KOL @Mark4XX cautioned that this is merely a pilot project and not a formally adopted currency. It was initiated by the IRIAS organization and is being promoted by some BRICS member countries. Other countries, including some African nations, are closely monitoring it.