For more than seven decades, the U.S. dollar has been the central pillar of the global monetary and financial system. From the Bretton Woods arrangements in 1944 to the present day, the dollar has served not only as a medium of exchange but as an anchor of trust. It remains the primary invoicing currency for international trade, the leading reserve asset held by central banks, and the foundation of global capital markets.

This supremacy has granted the United States what former French president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing famously called an “exorbitant privilege”: the ability to borrow cheaply, finance persistent deficits, and project geopolitical influence through monetary channels.
But the global environment is shifting. The geopolitical rivalries of the 21st century — the rise of China, sanctions against Russia, tensions in the Middle East, and the increasing assertiveness of the Global South — have accelerated efforts to reduce dependency on the dollar. The BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, now expanded to include new members such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Iran) is at the heart of this movement.

De-dollarization is not a sudden collapse of the dollar system but rather a gradual diversification of global trade, payments, and reserves. It reflects a multipolar world where multiple centers of financial power coexist. For the BRICS, this shift is not just about economics — it is a strategic project to reduce vulnerability, increase bargaining power, and reshape global governance.

This report — prepared by Sigma Trust under the authorship of Ricardo Veles — explores the drivers, mechanisms, and consequences of de-dollarization, with a focus on the BRICS.