During the last month, Russia’s ruble has dropped 16.48% against the U.S. dollar as energy and commodity prices have slowed over the last few weeks. Russia’s central bank revealed two weeks ago that it is further distancing itself from U.S. dollar dependence by purchasing the Chinese yuan on foreign exchange markets. Roughly around the same time, on Dec. 21, 2022, Sberbank executive and Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) member, Yaroslav Lissovolik, published an opinion article that talks about exploring the pathway toward a new BRICS reserve currency.

Russia’s Central Bank Seeks to Reduce Dependency on US Dollar with Purchase of Chinese Yuan

At the end of July, Bitcoin.com News reported on the BRICS nations’ plan to craft a new reserve currency after Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the plan amid the BRICS Summit in June. While the subject was topical at the time, people stopped discussing the BRICS reserve currency for a while. A few months later, in October 2022, the author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, discussed the subject and noted that the U.S. dollar is “toast.” Over the last 30 days, energy prices and commodities have subsided in value, but some economists expect a $200-per-barrel run-up in oil prices at some point in 2023.