Three years ago, in May 2023, I wrote for CityAM asking: Can BRICS build something with Bitcoin?
At the time, BRICS nations were openly discussing alternatives to the dollar, including commodity backed currencies using gold, oil or other resources.
The core problem was always trust. How do you audit reserves across countries with very different levels of transparency, and how do you handle the logistics of physical commodities in a digital world?
I argued there was a cleaner path. Bitcoin offers transparent on chain verification, no single issuer to trust or distrust, and a neutral, global, borderless system.
Fast forward to April 2026, and that shift away from dollar dependence is starting to take shape, but not quite in the way I described (not yet at least).
Russia is now expanding its A7 crypto payments network into Africa, built around a ruble backed stablecoin and partly controlled by a sanctioned defence linked bank, Promsvyazbank, together with fugitive Moldovan banker Ilan Șor. The aim is to bypass Western sanctions and SWIFT style systems for cross border trade.
This sits alongside the BRICS efforts around CBDC bridges, local currency settlement, and alternative payment rails. Foreign Minister Lavrov has described A7 as Russia’s “first international financial platform” and is inviting more African countries to join.
The infrastructure is being built, but it is controlled, permissioned and state influenced rather than open and trustless.
Africa has already demonstrated what real bottom up Bitcoin adoption looks like, mobile first, driven by remittances, Lightning payments and everyday use.
The question is whether these state led systems can deliver the neutrality and resilience BRICS claims to seek, or whether Bitcoin’s decentralised properties ultimately prove more durable.
Recent Moscow Times report on A7's Africa push (6 April 2026):
The Moscow Times
Russian Crypto Payments Network Seeks Africa Expansion – FT - The Moscow Times
Russia is seeking to build an alternative cross-border payments network in Africa using a ruble-backed cryptocurrency, as it looks to bypass Wester...
