Last updated Nov 29, 2025
economymarkets
Friedberg predicts that moves such as China and Saudi/Brazil settling oil and other trade in local currencies mark the beginning of the end of US dollar dominance in global trade and, over time, the end of the US dollar’s status as the singular global reserve currency (on a multi-decade horizon, not an immediate collapse).
And it's the end of the dominance. Right. It's the end of you've been... beginning of the end now, maybe it's a poor choice of words. It's not the end... Define dollar dominance in global trade... of the US dollar as a global reserve currency.View on YouTube
Explanation

The prediction is explicitly framed as a multi‑decade process (“beginning of the end… not an immediate collapse”), so evaluating it about 2.5 years after June 2023 is inherently premature.

As of late 2025:

  • The U.S. dollar remains by far the leading reserve currency, accounting for roughly 58–59% of disclosed global FX reserves, according to IMF COFER data, with the euro a distant second and others (CNY, JPY, GBP, etc.) far behind.
  • The dollar also continues to dominate FX trading and trade invoicing. BIS and academic studies show most trade—even between non‑U.S. partners—is still priced in USD, including a majority of global commodity trade (especially oil), despite some high‑profile bilateral deals in local currencies.
  • While China, Russia, some Gulf states, and others have expanded local‑currency or non‑dollar settlement arrangements since 2022–2023, those flows are still a small fraction of global trade and have not yet produced a decisive structural shift away from the dollar.

In other words, some supporting trends exist (more local‑currency trade, de‑risking from USD exposure, etc.), but the core of the claim is about the dollar losing its singular reserve‑currency role over decades. Given how dominant the dollar still is and how little time has passed relative to the forecast horizon, the truth or falsity of that long‑run prediction cannot yet be determined. Therefore, the proper classification is “inconclusive (too early)”.