BRICS De-Dollarization Push, China, and Crypto Threaten US Dollar’s Dominance: Analyst

Fitch Solutions’ global head of country risk has named the rising adoption of cryptocurrencies, the de-dollarization efforts by the BRICS countries, and China’s rising “economic might” as key factors that erode the U.S. dollar’s dominance over time. He cautioned that China will “exert more influence in global financial institutions and trade.”

Fitch Solutions’ global head of country risk, Cedric Chehab, explained why the U.S. dollar’s dominance is declining in an interview with CNBC on Sunday. Fitch Solutions provides financial information services; it is a division of Fitch Group that includes Fitch Ratings, a global leader in credit ratings and research.

The analyst explained that “Any reduction in the status of the U.S. dollar is going to be a slow erosion rather than a paradigm shift,” adding:

We’re gonna see that dollar dominance erode over time.

Chehab named three key reasons why the USD dominance is eroding. The first concerns China. He detailed: “China is the largest trade partner of most economies, and as its economic might continues to rise, that means that it’ll exert more influence in global financial institutions and trade, etc.”

Secondly, he explained that several economies want to diversify. Russia, for example, has been trying to delink itself from the U.S.-led financial sector, he described, noting that the sanctions imposed by Western countries have accelerated the efforts. Chehab also mentioned the BRICS bloc and ASEAN countries making similar efforts to reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar. BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. They are reportedly working to create a new type of currency that will reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar. ASEAN nations comprise Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Fitch Solutions analyst also pointed to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and cryptocurrencies as the third reason. Noting that they are “less talked about,” he cautioned:

We’ll essentially see, perhaps, less use of general currencies. That will impact the U.S. dollar.

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