Why has the dollar remained dominant despite rising debt, geopolitical strain, and growing challengers?

Barry Eichengreen joins Bankless to trace the history of global reserve currencies. From Spanish silver and the Byzantine solidus to sterling and the modern dollar, Barry explains the conditions that make a currency rise, endure, and eventually fall.

We explore fiscal discipline, rule of law, military power, gold, China, and crypto to understand what history suggests about the dollar’s future.

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

5:11 Spanish Pieces of ape

14:58 Solidus

18:56 International Currency Status

29:32 The Fall of International Currencies

33:27 The Fall of The US Dollar

41:38 What’s Special about the Dollar?

47:39 Theoretical Currencies

51:09 US Dollar Dominance Consequences

59:39 When will the Dollar Fall?

1:03:09 US Dollar Competitors

1:08:32 Gold

1:14:08 Bitcoin & Crypto

1:18:23 Closing & Disclaimers

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RESOURCES

Barry Eichengreen

https://x.com/B_Eichengreen

Money Beyond Borders: Global Currencies from Croesus to Crypto

https://www.amazon.com/Money-Beyond-Borders-Currencies-Croesus/dp/0691280533

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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:

https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

Why Hasn't The Dollar Fallen? | Lessons from Currency Historian Barry Eichengreen