Gold Over Greenbacks: How BRICS’ Bullion Push Is Quietly Redrawing the Global Money Map

BRICS — the influential economic grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — is steadily reshaping how emerging economies think about money, reserves, and risk. Rather than mounting a direct challenge to the US dollar, the bloc is pursuing a quieter strategy: producing more gold, buying more gold, and relying less on dollar-denominated assets.

Officially, BRICS nations hold about one-fifth of the world’s gold reserves. But when strategically aligned countries are included, their share of global gold production now approaches 50%. This growing control over new supply is giving the bloc greater financial flexibility at a time when trust in traditional reserve currencies is no longer absolute.

Russia and China lead the charge

China and Russia sit at the center of this shift. In 2024 alone, China produced around 380 tonnes of gold, while Russia added roughly 340 tonnes. Other BRICS members are also joining in. Brazil, for example, returned to gold buying in September 2025 with a purchase of 16 tonnes — its first since 2021.

Market experts describe this as a “dual strategy.” BRICS countries are increasing domestic production, limiting gold sales, and simultaneously buying from international markets. Between 2020 and 2024, BRICS central banks collectively accounted for more than half of global central bank gold purchases, underscoring how seriously they are rethinking reserve management.

Why gold, and why now?

The turning point came after the Russia–Ukraine conflict, when Western governments froze a significant portion of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves. That episode sent a clear signal to many governments: reserves held in foreign jurisdictions or dollar-based assets can become vulnerable during geopolitical conflicts.

Since then, BRICS policymakers have increasingly favored assets that are politically neutral, physically held, and difficult to control from abroad. Gold fits all three criteria. As a result, its share in BRICS foreign exchange reserves has risen, while exposure to US dollar assets has edged down.

This shift has coincided with a sustained rally in gold prices, driven not only by inflation concerns but also by strong and persistent demand from central banks. Markets are responding to the idea that gold is once again becoming a key anchor of trust in a more fragmented global financial system.

Reducing reliance on the dollar

Gold accumulation is only one part of the picture. BRICS nations are also working to reduce dollar use in trade. Around one-third of intra-BRICS trade is now settled in local currencies, bypassing the dollar altogether. Bilateral arrangements — such as trade between India and Russia or China and Brazil — reflect a practical effort to cut transaction costs, reduce exposure to sanctions, and lessen dependence on US dollar liquidity cycles.

With BRICS economies accounting for nearly 30% of global trade, these changes carry weight well beyond the bloc itself.

What this means for the US dollar

Despite growing speculation, experts stress that this is not the end of dollar dominance. The US dollar remains the world’s primary reserve currency, supported by deep financial markets and global trust. However, its supremacy is no longer unquestioned.

Control over future gold supply does not translate into immediate monetary dominance, but it does enhance long-term strategic options. The real structural challenge to the dollar lies not only in gold, but also in shifting trade patterns, changes to the petrodollar system, rising tariffs, and China’s push toward electric vehicles, renewable energy, and reduced reliance on fossil fuels.

A quieter, multipolar future

In the end, BRICS’ gold strategy is best understood as risk management rather than confrontation. By diversifying reserves and reducing overdependence on any single currency, the bloc is preparing for a world where financial power is more evenly distributed.

Gold may not dethrone the dollar, but it is steadily reclaiming its place as the ultimate reserve asset — anchoring trust in a global system that is becoming increasingly multipolar rather than dollar-centric.