Russia and Kazakhstan, both BRICS members, have now eliminated the U.S. dollar from all bilateral trade, completing a full shift to local currencies — the ruble and the tenge — by 2025. Earlier this year, they were already settling about 90% of trade without the dollar. Now it’s 100%.
The driver was simple:
U.S. sanctions on Russia in 2022 made dollar dependence a liability.
By freezing assets and restricting access to dollar rails, the U.S. pushed many nations to rethink their exposure. Russia and Kazakhstan responded by redesigning their trade settlement system to remove political risk, reduce costs, and increase regional financial sovereignty.
This move isn’t isolated. It fits a broader global trend:
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More BRICS nations settling trade in local currencies
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Expanding use of digital rails and CBDCs
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Growing adoption of ISO 20022 settlement systems
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A steady shift away from dollar-centric trade flows
Countries are asking the same question:
Why route transactions through the dollar when direct settlement is cheaper, safer, and harder to sanction?
This transition signals a new phase of de-dollarization — not driven by ideology, but by practicality. Nations want resilient financial infrastructure, not vulnerability to third-party control.
For U.S. investors, it’s a reminder that:
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Dollar dominance is drifting lower, not vanishing overnight
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Cross-border settlement is moving toward digital, multi-currency models
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Tokenized finance, CBDCs, and real-world asset networks stand to benefit
Russia and Kazakhstan’s shift shows what’s coming:
A world where the dollar becomes an option — not the default.
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