Cuba is close to joining Russia and China within the BRICS group.
Inputs that matter: A recent report stated that Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
- The meeting ended with both sides indicating that increased cooperation will soon become a reality. Subsequently, Cuba's entry into the alliance is a potential development.
- "We have noted the continuing, even growing interest of Cuban friends in interaction with BRICS," Lavrov said after the meeting.
- "Russia, as the country chairing the association this year, will support such a mindset."
The opportunity: India previously confirmed that more than 30 nations seek to join the alliance in the coming year.
- BRICS was designed to combine the developing countries in opposition to the Western European and North American nations that make up the G7.
- The BBC reports, "Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were invited to become members, effective 1 January 2024."
- Until recently, all of the BRICS members settled oil sales in U.S. Dollars.
Zoom in: As BRICS expands to combat its G7 rival better, Putin is recruiting for new members.
- Russian President Putin says, "Yemen will be Russia's strongest and most stable ally in the future," hinting at another candidate for joining the BRICS group.
Between the lines: Meanwhile, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, posted first-quarter revenue of $1.6 billion, a 72% increase quarter on quarter.
- Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey doubles down on Bitcoin.
- Argentina is the latest country to move to Bitcoin (BTC) in favor of the USD.
- President Bukele made headlines in September 2021 when he declared BTC a legal currency for El Salvador.
Follow the money: To move away from the G7's use of the U.S. Dollar (USD), competing BRICS members China and Russia signed a trade agreement allowing them to use local currencies to settle commodities trades.
- Today, more than 90% of the nation's bilateral trade dealings are settled in the yuan or ruble.
- Meanwhile, in Venezuela, Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the USD, is used for oil export transactions to avoid having revenues frozen in foreign bank accounts.
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Read More
- https://twitter.com/BRICSinfo/status/1786192583133168099
- https://twitter.com/BRICSinfo/status/1786219575102648549
- https://watcher.guru/news/cuba-to-join-accept-brics-currency-in-2024
- https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/03/biden-ev-tax-credit-rules-automakers-china-00155917
- https://banananomics.co/how_the_us_dollar_is_losing_its_global_status
- https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/05/02/coinbase-q1-earnings-smash-expectations/
- https://banananomics.co/iran_russia_and_china_uniting