S2E54: Why the US dollar is so sticky

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: Bhagyashree Garekar's LinkedIn: Sign up for ST's weekly Asian Insider newsletter: Host: Bhagyashree Garekar ( bhagya@sph.com.sg ) Produced and edited by: Amirul Karim Executive producer: Ernest Luis Follow Asian Insider Podcast on Fridays here: Channel: Apple Podcasts: Spotify: Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg SPH Awedio app: --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: Get more updates: The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: --- Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: Google Play: ---

You can listen to S2E54: Why the US dollar is so sticky online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

S2E54: Why the US dollar is so sticky is an episode from Asian Insider by ST Podcast Team.

This episode is 27:54 long.

This episode was published on Dec 18, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Asian Insider when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.