Russia’s BRICS Sherpa Sergey Ryabkov told the PIR Center on Tuesday that the bloc has entered a “second stage” of expansion — but stopped short of giving any timetable or naming prospective new members. “We have now entered, I believe, the second stage of expansion. I will not speculate here about when, who, and in what capacity we will have further rapprochement with BRICS,” he said. Ryabkov did, however, signal that growth may not be limited to outright accession. He flagged the potential for a formal “partner states” category as a vehicle for broader engagement, noting that “BRICS already has quite a few of these countries that have recently achieved this status.” That suggests the alliance could deepen ties with sympathetic governments without immediately moving to full membership. The diplomat also credited Russia’s 2023 chairmanship with a successful rollout of the bloc’s recent enlargement. According to Ryabkov, founding members all played constructive roles in integrating newcomers and ensured a smooth transition. He argued the integration is already bearing fruit: “All BRICS members acknowledge that we have accomplished this task quite effectively.” Ryabkov pointed to Indonesia’s accession — which took effect in January 2025 — as a concrete example. He praised Jakarta’s rapid engagement across BRICS activities and described the newcomer’s contributions as “valuable and effective,” saying the integration of recent entrants has effectively been completed. The Sherpa framed the expanded BRICS as stronger and more financially sustainable, calling attention to the bloc’s recent summit outcomes. “Practical results are reflected in the final documents. It’s enough to look at the lengthy declarations of the leaders, adopted in Kazan in 2024 and in Rio de Janeiro in 2025. It’s clear what has been done and what will be done next,” he said. Why crypto readers should watch - Expansion and formal partner categories could widen BRICS’ geopolitical and economic reach, potentially accelerating moves to diversify trade and finance arrangements beyond Western-run systems. - An enlarging BRICS bloc could intensify discussions around alternatives to dollar-dominated settlement, cross-border payment mechanisms, and coordinated approaches to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) — all topics with direct relevance to crypto markets and infrastructure. - Ryabkov’s comments stop short of concrete policy shifts, but they underscore that BRICS is actively shaping new institutional pathways that could influence global financial architecture over the coming years. Bottom line: BRICS has signaled a deliberate, staged approach to growth. The bloc’s consolidation — including new membership and partner-state mechanisms — is already being touted as a strategic success. For crypto and digital-finance observers, the key question is whether that institutional deepening will translate into coordinated alternatives to existing payment rails and monetary norms. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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