IMF Data Reveals Historic Decline In US Dollar Reserves

At the beginning of this year, under high geoeconomic tension, dedollarization stands out as a strong signal of a global monetary shift. Long relegated to the sidelines of economic debate, this dynamic is intensifying as trust in the stability of the United States erodes. The dollar’s share in global reserves is slowly but surely declining, an evolution monitored by markets and feared by strategists. Behind this retreat, it is the international monetary order that could enter a phase of recomposition.

A measured but structured decline of the dollar in global reserves

The status of the US dollar as a dominant reserve currency shows tangible signs of erosion, supported by recent data published by the IMF.

According to these figures, the dollar’s share in global foreign exchange reserves fell to 57.8 % at the end of 2024, a level that had not been reached since 1994.

Financial analyst Wolf Richter summarizes the situation as follows :

The reserve currency status derives from the fact that other central banks, and not the Fed, have bought trillions of dollars’ worth of dollar-denominated assets, such as Treasury securities, state bonds, corporate bonds, and even stocks.

However, this massive support is beginning to crumble. According to Richter, foreign central banks’ holdings in dollar-denominated securities declined from $6.69 trillion at the end of 2023 to $6.63 trillion at the end of 2024, a net decrease of $59 billion in one year.

This trend cannot be explained by a temporary accident, but by a structural willingness of central banks around the world to diversify.

The decline of the dollar is part of a long-term dynamic, accelerated by trade tensions exacerbated by President Donald Trump. In addition to this political context, there is a growing loss of confidence in the sustainability of American debt. Several concrete elements support this change of course:

• A decrease in dollar holdings : -$59 billion in one year according to the end of 2024 data ;
• The historical erosion of the dollar’s share in global reserves: fallen to 57.8 %, the lowest level in 30 years ;
• A diversification towards other assets : central banks are strengthening their gold reserves, considered a safe haven against dollar instability ;
• Political and trade instability : Trump’s return fuels uncertainty, particularly through repeated tariff threats against his trading partners.

These converging indicators suggest that the dollar, while still dominant, is gradually losing the monopoly of international institutional trust.

Emerging currencies and assets assaulting the dollar’s monopoly

If the first alert comes from a decline in dollar asset holdings by central banks, the rest of the picture is equally revealing. Several so-called non-traditional currencies are gaining ground in global reserve portfolios.

According to the latest IMF data, the main currencies that are nibbling away at the dollar’s share are the Japanese yen (5.8 %), British pound (4.7 %), Canadian dollar (2.8 %), Chinese yuan (2.2 %), Australian dollar (2.1 %), and Swiss franc (0.2 %).

The combined share of all other currencies reaches 4.6 %. A movement that Richter calls a “progressive monetary fragmentation,” initiated well before the current situation but seems to be accelerating now. These assets, previously considered secondary, are increasingly appearing as serious alternatives to mitigate exposure to the dollar.

Even more concerning for some observers, the threat may not come solely from traditional state currencies. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, has expressed a weighty warning: “if the United States fails to control its debt and deficits continue to grow, America risks losing its leadership position in favor of cryptos like bitcoin.”

In this statement, Fink does not predict an immediate revolution, but signals a potential long-term shift in the global monetary hierarchy. If players of this caliber begin to consider bitcoin as a serious alternative, it reflects a paradigm shift in the perception of safe-haven assets in the digital age.

The implications of such a realignment are manifold. For the United States, a prolonged loss of demand for the dollar would lead to a reduced capacity to finance its deficits at low cost. For emerging economies, this represents the opportunity to emancipate from a system often deemed asymmetrical. Finally, for investors (notably in the crypto sector), this transition opens up a field of strategic reflection. Are we on the brink of a new international monetary system? Or are we simply witnessing a cyclical correction in a global cycle? The future, still unclear, deserves to be scrutinized with the utmost attention.