The expanded BRICS are an economic powerhouse, now representing more than 45% of the world's population while accounting for a larger share (nearly 36%) of global GDP than G7 countries (30%) when adjusting for purchasing power parity (PPP).

The BRICS currently boasts 1.6 million individuals with investable assets of over USD 1 million in the grouping of the world's leading emerging economies, including 4,716 centi-millionaires (with more than USD 100 million in investable assets) and 549 billionaires.

According to Henley & Partners investment expert, Jeff D. Opdyke, "nations once considered 'developing' or 'emerging' or the pejorative 'third world' are now dynamic economies that are changing the global order. Economically, non-Western nations - with BRICS at the vanguard - are pushing the globe into a new reality: An emerging economic, social, and monetary status quo that is upending what the world has accepted as normal for nearly eight decades."

On the economic frontier, BRICS established the New Development Bank in 2015 as a counter to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The bank has funded billions in loans and bonds to develop infrastructure projects around the world, including energy efficiency projects, digital infrastructure, water and sanitation, and environmental protection.

On the agenda for the 16th BRICS Summit are the usual issues of cooperation and mutual respect of trading partners within the BRICS, but also with countries on the periphery which are seen as future full BRICS members. Countries as far-flung as Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ghana, and even Mexico and Afghanistan have expressed interest in joining BRICS or at least establishing better relations with countries they see as not being a threat to their individual sovereignty, such as the U.S., Europe, England, and Israel routinely enforce economic conditions at the end of the barrel of a gun.

What has the Western nations shaking a bit is the continuing development of a blockchain-based alternative to SWIFT, the Western settlement platform for international trade that banned Russia from participation in 2022.

A story by the Jerusalem Press on September 30, confirmed rumors of a developing alternative payment and settlement system, citing Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing such an endeavor. In collaboration with the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the BRICS Bridge project has involved a good number of participating countries, including China, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Gulf countries and has so far concluded that preliminary tests have met with success.

BRICS Bridge shares a similar name with mBridge, the cross border central bank digital currency (cross border CBDC) platform developed by four central banks, including BRICS members China, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, along with Thailand and Hong Kong.

While trade and global alliances will no doubt be top agendas at the summit, the development of a gold-backed, BRICS-wide currency, known in passing as the "Unit" will be a hot topic. According to most informed sources, the currency would be at least partially backed by gold, perhaps at 40%, the remaining 60% tied to a basket of BRICS' members national currencies. While the establishment of the "Unit" is probably still years away, it may become reality as early as 2030, a change that would shake the foundations of Western banking to its core.

While Western media continues to try to downplay the importance of BRICS on the global stage, it's becoming more and more apparent that these countries mean business and most are fed up with the dominance of the U.S., Europe and their allies. For their part, diplomats in the U.S., the EU, and Britain attempt to denigrate the plans of the BRICS and continue to threaten them with sanctions and war, rather than acting in an adult manner with cooperation, compassion, and dignity.

At some point, the attitudes of Western diplomats will foment more ill feelings from the rest of the world, and, unfortunately, the effects of their insouciance and hubris will be felt mostly by their citizens, who will suffer loss of liberties and economic advancement. From the looks of things, leaders in the U.S. and Europe had best not toy with BRICS and instead seek ways to align more closely with the rest of the world instead of threatening its existence.