Pennings, A.J. (2026, Mar 12) Multipolar Money and the Rise of an AI-SACT Clearing Architecture. apennings.com https://apennings.com/financial-technology/multipolar-money-and-the-rise-of-an-ai-sact-clearing-architecture/

Introduction

Although the dollar still anchors the global financial system, the monetary landscape is becoming increasingly multipolar. The euro and the yen remain major reserve currencies, new digital payment networks such as BRICS Pay are emerging, and cryptocurrencies have introduced alternative digital monetary infrastructures. These developments are often described as challenges to dollar dominance. Yet they can also be interpreted as additional layers in an emerging global clearing architecture.

Viewed through the lens of John Maynard Keynes’ proposal at Bretton Woods for a bancor and International Clearing Union (ICU), these monetary systems may function not as rivals to a global currency but as components within a distributed clearing network. In such a system, national and regional currencies would continue to operate as transactional media, while a higher-level computational ledger (AI-SACT clearing system) records and balances the financial relationships between them.

The Euro and the Yen as Regional Reserve Layers

The euro and the yen already function as important reserve and funding currencies within the global financial system. The euro anchors much of European trade and financial integration, while the yen remains central to Asian capital markets and global carry trades where investors borrow from one country to invest in another.[1]

In a Bancor-style clearing architecture, these currencies would not disappear. Instead, they would operate as regional liquidity layers within the broader system. For example, European trade flows would continue to be denominated largely in euros and Asian financial markets might rely heavily on yen liquidity. Global commodities and financial assets might still be priced primarily in dollars.

The ICU-style spreadsheet ledger would not replace these currencies. Instead, it would record the net balances between them. In effect, the eurozone, Japan, and other monetary regions would appear as accounts within the global clearing ledger, much as Keynes originally proposed.

Cryptocurrencies as Experimental Monetary Infrastructure

Cryptocurrencies add another dimension to the emerging monetary landscape. Bitcoin, DOGE, Ethereum, and related systems introduced the idea of distributed digital ledgers capable of recording financial transactions without centralized intermediaries.[2]

Although cryptocurrencies were initially framed as alternatives to sovereign currencies, their deeper significance lies in demonstrating how global financial ledgers can operate as programmable infrastructures.

Blockchain networks perform several functions that are directly relevant to a modern clearing system. They record transactions in a shared ledger, synchronize financial information across networks, enable programmable financial contracts, and provide transparency into asset flows.

These capabilities align closely with the telecommunications synchronization and symbolic computing layers of the SACT framework. In other words, cryptocurrencies provide a technical proof-of-concept for global ledger coordination, even if they do not ultimately replace sovereign currencies.

BRICS Pay and the Geopolitics of Payment Networks

Another development reshaping global finance is the emergence of alternative payment infrastructures, such as China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) and the BRICS Pay network (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). These systems are designed to reduce reliance on Western-controlled financial messaging systems such as SWIFT and to facilitate trade among emerging economies (Tooze, 2018).

BRICS Pay is particularly significant because it aims to create a multilateral settlement network linking several large economies. Rather than relying solely on the dollar, the system allows transactions to be cleared across multiple currencies. Currently, it is becoming popular among BRICS+ nations but is less popular in Western-aligned markets.

It acts as a “unifying layer” between systems like India’s UPI, Brazil’s Pix, and China’s UnionPay and uses national fiat currencies (Rubles, Rupees, Yuan). The units differ, but the system treats them under a uniform messaging protocol. It is stored in a digital wallet on a mobile device but relies on merchants’ support for QR codes.

From the perspective of the ICU concept, such networks represent regional clearing subsystems. They facilitate payments and settlements within specific economic blocs while remaining connected to the broader global financial architecture.

Toward an AI-SACT Global Ledger

When viewed together, these developments suggest a monetary system composed of multiple interacting layers:

National and regional currencies
(USD, EUR, JPY, CNY, etc.)

Digital settlement instruments
(Treasury-backed stablecoins, tokenized deposits)

Payment and messaging networks
(SWIFT, CIPS, BRICS Pay)

Distributed ledger infrastructures
(blockchains and digital clearing platforms)

Within the SACT framework, these components correspond to different levels of the computational architecture of modern finance.

– Substitution occurs when economic transactions are converted into digital financial entries.

– Abstraction results when diverse currencies and assets are represented through standardized accounting units.

– Symbolic computing uses financial algorithms and platforms to process these numerical representations.

– Telecom synchronization allows global networks to synchronize financial data across institutions and regions.

As these layers integrate, the global financial system begins to resemble a planetary clearing ledger, similar to Keynes’s bancor, but with the technological capabilities to finally implement it.

An AI-SACT clearing architecture would operate above this system, monitoring financial flows between currency zones, detecting imbalances, and coordinating settlement mechanisms. In such a structure, the Bancor concept would not necessarily appear as a circulating currency. Instead, it would function as a neutral accounting unit used by the global ledger to measure and balance international financial positions.

A Multipolar Clearing System

In this emerging architecture, the dollar may remain the primary collateral currency through US Treasury markets. The euro and yen would operate as regional liquidity anchors, and stablecoins and digital tokens facilitate global settlement. Cryptocurrency infrastructures have demonstrated programmable ledger capabilities that could be implemented.

BRICS Pay and other payment systems create alternative transaction networks.

Rather than fragmenting the global monetary system, these developments may collectively push it toward a computational clearing structure resembling Keynes’ ICU. The difference is that the system may not emerge through diplomatic negotiation. Instead, it may arise from the gradual integration of financial technologies, payment networks, and digital ledgers into the computational infrastructure of global capitalism.

In the end, the international monetary system may emerge into what Keynes could only imagine. Can AI make it a continuously updated global ledger that coordinates the financial balances of nations? A significant question is whether it will be implemented not through a treaty but through an emerging AI-SACT architecture within modern finance.

This next post, I frame Bancor/ICU as an operating-system layer of global finance, integrated within an AI-SACT framework. This fits after the above argument and strengthens the theoretical argument of the AI-SACT implementation as a successor for the global financial system.

Notes

[1] Yen carry trade allows financial traders to borrow money cheap from Japan and use it to make investments. McDowell, D. (2017). The US as “Sovereign International Last-Resort Lender.” New Political Economy.
[2] Narayanan, A., Bonneau, J., Felten, E., Miller, A., & Goldfeder, S. (2016). Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies. Princeton University Press.

Prompt: Now integrate the Euro, the yen, cryptocurrencies, and BRICS pay into the analysis of the AI-SACT implementing Keynes’ Bancor and ICU system.

References

Howell, M. (2020). Capital Wars: The Rise of Global Liquidity. Palgrave Macmillan.
Keynes, J. M. (1980). The International Clearing Union. In The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes, Vol. 25. Cambridge University Press.
McDowell, D. (2017). The US as “Sovereign International Last-Resort Lender.” New Political Economy.
Narayanan, A., Bonneau, J., Felten, E., Miller, A., & Goldfeder, S. (2016). Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies. Princeton University Press.
Pozsar, Z. (2014). Shadow Banking: The Money View. Office of Financial Research.

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Not to be considered financial advice.

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Anthony J. Pennings, PhD is a Professor at the Department of Technology and Society, State University of New York, Korea and a Research Professor for Stony Brook University. He teaches AI and broadband policy. From 2002-2012 he taught digital economics and information systems management at New York University. He also taught in the Digital Media MBA at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas, where he lives when not in Korea.

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