A New International Monetary System BRICS Settlement Network and UNIT

 

Institutional Design Framework
4 January 2026
Gilles Bonafi

 

Executive Summary

This document describes the BRICS Settlement Network (BSN), a multilateral settlement infrastructure designed to complement existing international payment systems. The BSN is based on a collateralized settlement asset, called UNIT, intended exclusively for inter-central bank operations. It is part of a profound transformation of the international monetary architecture, resulting from imbalances accumulated over several decades.

The BSN is neither a financial institution nor a supranational monetary authority. It has no balance sheet, grants no credit, and issues no debt. It provides a technical and legal framework enabling real-time gross settlement (RTGS) of international transactions, backed by real reserves held by participating central banks.

This architecture aims to:

·       strengthen the resilience of cross-border settlements,

·       reduce settlement and liquidity risks,

·       improve the operational neutrality of the international payment system,

·       ensure continuity of essential exchanges during periods of systemic stress.

 

Introduction

As I announced at the beginning of this year, 2026 marks the entry into a major systemic crisis—not merely another cyclical downturn, but the logical culmination of a system that has reached its structural limits. The 2008 financial crisis was never resolved; it was postponed, absorbed, and amplified by an unprecedented accumulation of public and private debt, continuous monetary expansion, and the growing financialization of the real economy.

As I explained in my book The End of Economic Science, the Beginning of the Golden Age, the looming crisis is therefore not a repetition of past economic cycles, but the end of a specific international monetary architecture—one that has prevailed since the 1971 break and the definitive abandonment of the gold standard. Since then, the system has rested on intrinsically unstable foundations: debt-money created ex nihilo, dependence on political trust, legal extraterritoriality, and the increasing use of currency as an instrument of geopolitical power.

The successive crises—financial, energy-related, health-related, and geopolitical—are not anomalies. They are visible manifestations of a structural imbalance between a globalized monetary system and a world economy that has become multipolar.

In this context, it is highly likely that the BRICS countries and their partners will implement protective mechanisms against liquidity disruptions, sanction risks, and the growing instability of the current international settlement system. This article presents what I consider to be the most structurally significant measure of this protection strategy: the establishment of a new international monetary settlement system, based not on debt and political trust, but on proof of real assets and a technically neutral infrastructure.

The Axis Settlement Orbis (ASO) and Axis Stability Interface (ASI) projects constitute the conceptual and operational framework within which the proposal presented in this article is situated. They do not propose a marginal reform of the existing order, but a paradigm shift: moving from a monetary system based on promise and intermediation to a settlement infrastructure based on collateralization, algorithmic transparency, and the architectural sovereignty of states.

Finally, this conceptual framework is also the product of a broader reflection, which I refer to as miltasophy: a reconciliation between scientific rigor, systemic understanding of human infrastructures, and spirituality—a deeper approach to meaning, stability, and collective responsibility. From this perspective, money is no longer merely an economic tool, but a structuring instrument of civilization, whose architecture durably conditions the balance of societies.

 

1. Context and Justification

Today’s international payment system is based on a combination of:

·       financial messaging systems,

·       correspondent banking chains,

·       settlement assets largely based on sovereign debt.

This model has proven effective in periods of stability, but it presents structural vulnerabilities:

·       extended settlement delays,

·       concentration of operational risks,

·       exposure to liquidity disruptions and geopolitical fragmentations.

In this context, several recent initiatives (notably multi-CBDC bridge projects) are exploring direct settlement infrastructures, distinct from traditional correspondent banking mechanisms. The BSN fits into this dynamic as a complementary infrastructure, with no intention of replacing existing systems.

 

2. Nature and Scope of the BSN

2.1 Institutional Status

The BSN is a market infrastructure, not a financial entity. It is characterized by the following principles:

·       absence of banking personality,

·       absence of leverage,

·       accounting and monetary neutrality.

The network does not hold the assets underlying settlements. These remain held and administered by national central banks, in accordance with their respective legal frameworks.

2.2 Scope of Application

The BSN is intended for:

·       inter-central bank settlements,

·       cross-border payments linked to international trade,

·       with priority given to strategic commodity exchanges.

It is not intended for retail use.

 

3. UNIT: Settlement Asset

3.1 Definition

UNIT is a digital settlement asset, legally sui generis, representing a direct and temporary claim on a set of real assets immobilized by a participating central bank.

UNIT:

·       is not fiat currency,

·       does not constitute a debt of the BSN,

·       implies no automatic convertibility commitment by a central entity.

 

3.2 Collateralization

Each issued UNIT is fully backed by immobilized assets, including:

·       physical gold and silver,

·       reference currencies from a multilateral basket,

·       standardized commodities, under strict verification conditions.

The assets remain located within national jurisdictions and are subject to:

·       cross-audits between central banks,

·       cryptographic proof mechanisms attesting to their immobilization.

 

4. Issuance and Extinction Mechanism

4.1 Issuance (Mint)

UNIT issuance is initiated by a participating central bank through a fully automated process:

1. Immobilization of eligible assets by the central bank.

2.    Validation of proof of reserves.

3.    Automatic generation of UNIT via a smart contract.

4.    Credit of UNIT to the central bank’s settlement account.

This mechanism ensures that any creation of UNIT corresponds to the prior immobilization of real assets.

 

4.2 Extinction (Burn)

When a central bank returns UNIT:

·       tokens are destroyed,

·       immobilization of corresponding assets is lifted.

This process ensures the system’s long-term net neutrality.

 

5. Value Stability

5.1 Reference Basket

The value of UNIT is indexed to a basket comprising:

·       a significant component of physical gold and silver,

·       a set of currencies representative of participating economies.

Maximum weighting rules are provided to avoid excessive concentration on a single currency.

5.2 Fluctuation Corridor

A price corridor mechanism is integrated:

·       limited deviations are tolerated,

·       automatic adjustments to issuance and extinction costs contribute to stabilizing  value around the basket.

No discretionary intervention is required.

 

6. Technical Infrastructure

The BSN relies on a permissioned distributed ledger technology, characterized by:

·       validation by participating central banks,

·       rapid transaction finality,

·       ledger transparency for competent authorities.

The consensus model is designed to combine:

·       operational efficiency,

·       cryptographic security,

·       multilateral governance.

 

7. Governance

BSN governance is based on:

·       a council of participating central banks,

·       super-qualified majority decision rules,

·       weighting reflecting both collateral commitment and settlement activity.

Protocol evolutions are subject to formalized procedures ensuring stability and predictability.

 

8. Risk Management

The main identified risks (operational, legal, valuation) are mitigated by:

·       absence of a central balance sheet,

·       full collateralization,

·       national localization of assets,

·       strict separation between infrastructure and monetary policy.

The BSN does not eliminate global macroeconomic risks, but aims to reduce cross-border settlement and liquidity risks.

9. Conclusion

The BRICS Settlement Network constitutes a complementary multilateral settlement infrastructure designed to strengthen the robustness of the international payment system. By providing a direct, collateralized, and multilateral settlement mechanism, the BSN offers central banks an additional operational option, particularly in environments characterized by increased volatility or fragmentation of international financial flows. In a context where the post-1971 inherited monetary architecture shows signs of structural exhaustion, the BSN constitutes a pragmatic, non-ideological response to a world that has become durably multipolar.