Seeds of Wisdom RV and Economics Updates Tuesday Evening 10-28-25
Good Evening Dinar Recaps
ASEAN and Australia Push Back on China: A Maritime Pivot in Global Trade
The South China Sea becomes the frontline for the next phase of economic realignment.
At the latest ASEAN–Australia summit, leaders united to condemn China’s aggressive maneuvers in the South China Sea, including incidents targeting Filipino and Australian vessels. The joint declaration emphasized international maritime law, open trade routes, and multilateral diplomacy.
Strategic Maritime Corridors: The South China Sea handles over $3 trillion in annual trade. Any collective defense of these routes transforms ASEAN from a passive bloc into a regional security consortium.
Economic Decoupling Pressure: Australia and the Philippines’ cooperation signals deeper coordination between Western economies and Southeast Asian partners. Expect a surge in joint infrastructure financing (ports, fiber optics, defense tech) funded through Quad and G7 channels.
Alternative Supply Networks: As trade re-routes away from China-dominated waters, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia stand to gain. Logistics hubs in Singapore and Darwin may evolve into the backbone of a “Pacific Free Trade Belt.”
Implications for Global Trade:
The diplomacy here is as much about economics as security. This could result in two maritime trading networks — one under Western alignment (ASEAN-Australia-Japan-US), and another centered on BRICS-Eurasian corridors. Such bifurcation mirrors the broader fragmentation of finance, logistics, and market access globally.
This is not just politics — it’s global finance restructuring before our eyes.
Seeds of Wisdom Team
Newshounds News™ Exclusive
Sources:
Reuters: “China, Australia keen on stable ties despite tensions, rivalry” — Reuters
Al Jazeera: “China accuses Australia of covering up South China Sea airspace incursion” — Al Jazeera
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BRICS’ Digital Currency Bridge: Prelude to a Global Currency Reset?
As BRICS pilots ultra-fast settlements, could this signal a move toward an asset-backed global digital currency and a reshaping of the dollar era?
The recent pilot of the mBridge digital currency bridge—settling transactions in just 7 seconds and with dramatically lower fees—points to a deeper shift in global finance. According to one recent report, payments between Abu Dhabi and China via mBridge were settled in seven seconds, with transaction fees claimed to be ~98% lower than those using the traditional SWIFT system.
The Mechanics: mBridge & Payment Infrastructure
mBridge was developed by the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub together with central banks of China, Thailand, the UAE, Hong Kong and later Saudi Arabia. It is designed to allow real-time cross-border payments with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
The BIS announced it would hand over management of mBridge to participating central banks in late 2024.
Analysts observe that while mBridge is not explicitly a BRICS-only project, several participating states overlap with the expanded BRICS group and the infrastructure aligns with its de-dollarisation ambitions.
One recent analysis suggests that beyond faster payments, a “less likely but more transformative” scenario is the launch of a dedicated BRICS digital currency backed by a basket of member currencies or commodities like gold.
How This Could Lead to a Global Asset-Backed Digital Currency
Eliminating Intermediaries – The pilot between Abu Dhabi and China demonstrated that payments could bypass traditional correspondent banking routes (e.g., New York and London). If scaled to more BRICS and partner nations, that reduces dependency on dollar-clearing channels. (See mBridge settlement speed & cost)
Hub for Local/Regional Currencies – As the platform supports CBDCs, member states might settle trade in local or regional digital currencies rather than in US dollars. That opens the door to a synthetic or unified digital currency of the bloc.
Asset/Commodity Backing – Analysts suggest a BRICS currency could be backed by gold or other hard assets, which gives it credibility as a reserve alternative.
Infrastructure Precedes Currency Launch – The infrastructure (mBridge, BRICS Pay, regional digital settlement systems) can precede and prepare the ground for a formal digital currency to be issued by a supranational or region-wide entity.
What a Global Currency Reset Might Look Like
Reduced Dollar Dominance: The US dollar has long been the primary global reserve and trade-invoicing currency. BRICS efforts aim to reduce this dependency.
Currency Bloc or Basket: A new digital currency might be built on a basket of BRICS currencies (renminbi, rupee, real, rand, ruble etc) or backed by commodities/gold, providing an alternative reserve asset.
New Payment Architecture: With low‐cost, fast settlement networks like mBridge, trade settlement timelines shrink and reliance on Western-dominated financial rails diminishes.
Implications for Power and Sanctions: Countries under Western sanctions see appeal in alternative payment systems that circumvent dollar-based sanctions architecture.
Risks, Challenges & Timing
Technical vs Political: While infrastructure is advancing, full rollout and trust in a new global currency require enormous political coordination and regulatory alignment. Some experts caution that BRICS’s ability to launch a truly viable alternative remains limited in the near term.
Dollar Resilience: Despite the push, the dollar’s dominance remains resilient—for now. The shift may take years.
Diverse Member Interests: The BRICS nations have differing economic systems, policies and levels of integration; aligning them around a single digital currency or settlement system presents major coordination issues.
Geopolitical Response: The US and its allies may respond by strengthening the current financial architecture, applying regulatory or sanction pressures, or accelerating their own digital currency initiatives.
Backing & Trust: For a new currency to gain reserve status it must be trusted. This implies backing by credible assets, transparency, liquidity and stability—all difficult in emerging-market contexts.
Implications for Investors & Policymakers
Investors should monitor developments in digital sovereignty, CBDCs and cross-border settlement systems as structural shifts in global finance may alter currency, trade and reserve asset dynamics.
Central banks and policymakers in non-BRICS countries should evaluate vulnerability to exclusion from new rails, or opportunities to link with alternative systems.
Markets may gradually price in potential de-dollarisation risks, especially for currencies, commodities, and trade-financing arenas.
Commodity-rich and export-driven emerging markets may see accelerated efforts to invoice trade in alternatives to the US dollar, particularly if digital settlement systems reduce friction and cost.
Closing Thoughts
The pulse of global finance is showing subtle but significant signs of change. With BRICS nations pushing faster, cheaper settlement architectures via platforms like mBridge, the foundations for a digital currency and potentially a global currency reset are quietly being laid. While the full impact may take years to manifest, this is not just politics — it’s global finance restructuring before our eyes.
Seeds of Wisdom Team
Newshounds News™ Exclusive
Sources:
Watcher.guru — BRICS Tests Digital Currency Bridge, Settles Payments in 7 Seconds Watcher Guru
BIS Innovation Hub — Project mBridge reached minimum viable product Bank for International Settlements
ING Think — De-dollarisation: More BRICS in the wall ING Think
InvestingNews — How Would a New BRICS Currency Affect the US Dollar? Investing News Network (INN)
OMFIF — Central banks’ role in ring-fencing mBridge OMFIF
GIS Reports Online — BRICS making progress on payment system GIS Reports
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