This is very troublesome. The US is actually much worse off financially than Greece. When people discuss the Greek national debt, what you see it what you get. When people talk about the US national debt, they are leaving out all the states, cities, etc. (The real number is somewhere north of $60 trillion.) What keeps us afloat is the fact that our currency is the global currency of choice for world trade and the reserve currency of choice for most central banks. Governments, businesses, and individuals all want/need to keep dollars in order to execute transactions, hedge against currency fluctuations, or just stuff in their sock drawer for a rainy day (note: that is not where I keep my stash, so lay off my socks). If the US dollar is no longer seen as the global reserve currency, it will collapse.
The Russians are actually making a move against the petrodollar. It appears that they are quite serious about their de-dollarization strategy. The largest natural gas producer on the planet, Gazprom, has signed agreements with some of their biggest customers to switch payments for natural gas from U.S. dollars to euros.
read more: http://www.silverdoctors.com/putin-is-doing-it-russia-is-actually-abandoning-the-dollar/
Good for Russia, not good for the USA, but still, I expect that the USD will remain the World’s main reserve currency for at least a couple of more decades.
I wonder. The issue of “reserve currency” is a matter of trust. Something almost spiritual in nature. Something that can be lost in a blink of an eye. What troubles me is the possibility of a death spiral that is triggered by a “run on the bank” so to speak. If faith and trust in the US dollar falls, it could trigger a death spiral as people, businesses, and governments struggle to unload their US dollars.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3006988/russia-china-keen-increase-use-yuan-rouble-trade-settlement
Anyway, I looked up the percentage of foreign exchange reserves held in USD, and from 2014 to 2018 it fell from 65,14% to 61,19%, so even though it is currently on a downward spiral, it is still the dominant currency by far (the closest currency is the Euro with 20,69%).