S2E54: Why the US dollar is so sticky

Dec 18, 2025

27:54

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Find out why the world is likely to stay dollar-centric even as countries try to toggle away from the greenback.

Synopsis: Every third Friday of the month, The Straits Times gets its US bureau chief to analyse the hottest political and trending talking points.

Harvard historian Mary Bridges, the author of Dollars and Dominion, explains why the world is likely to stay dollar-centric even as China, Russia, India and many countries try to toggle away from the greenback and into rival currencies like the yuan or the euro.

In this episode, Dr Bridges, the Ernest May Fellow in History & Policy at Harvard University’s International Security Programme, tells US bureau chief Bhagyashree Garekar that while the world is becoming multipolar and diversified, the thick layer of institutions, relationships and trust built around the US dollar mean that any transition will take a very long time.

Highlights (click/tap above):

0:59 How the US dollar became the king of currencies

3:58 How the US banks went into Asia

11:17 Will the US dollar lose its dominance?

19:17 Are crypto-currencies encroaching on dollar dominion?

21:11 Are Trump’s tariffs spurring de-dollarisation?

23:49 Why China’s BRI is also a currency play

Read Bhagyashree Garekar’s articles: https://str.sg/whNo

Bhagyashree Garekar’s LinkedIn: https://str.sg/gD6E

Host: Bhagyashree Garekar (bhagya@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Amirul Karim

Executive producer: Ernest Luis