- Most rich countries and individuals continue to store their wealth in the US stock market.
- Despite calls for the demise of the dollar, no other currency has the current ability to usurp its position as the world’s default currency.
- China and Russia negotiating agreements to use their national fiat currencies to settle transactions is not relevant.
Renowned venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary addresses fears that another currency could emerge and usurp the US dollar as the undisputed king of international trade and finance.
In an interview conducted by Stranberry Research, O’Leary says that he has been hearing calls for the demise of the US dollar all his life.
According to the venture capital investor, the dollar will remain the world’s reserve currency as long as rich countries and individuals continue to store their wealth in the US stock market.
“I’ve been hearing about the death of the US dollar since 1966. Every two years someone comes along and says, ‘This is the death of the dollar.’ You just have to ask yourself one question: if you are a sovereign wealth fund – I don’t care which country – from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, where is most of your wealth right now? It is in the US dollar-denominated S&P 500. Now, until that changes, there is no chance of another currency becoming the world’s default currency. People wanted it to be Bitcoin. That’s interesting, but that’s speculation. That is not a coin. So maybe a digitized version of the dollar, although that’s going to be stalled over privacy concerns I think. Maybe a private version of that as USDC (USD Coin).
O’Leary commented
He also added:
“Ask any high net worth person anywhere on Earth where they want to put all their money. Nobody tells you the yuan, nobody tells you the euro, nobody tells you the pound sterling. Nobody says Brazilian currency, or Venezuelan currency. Everything is the US dollar. I tell everyone who cares about this: ‘Get over it.’”
As for the possibility of countries like China and Russia negotiating agreements to use their national fiat currencies to settle transactions, O’Leary says it is irrelevant, as major economies continue to rely on the dollar to trade goods and services.
“No one is getting rid of their US dollar which is an important trading platform, and everyone wants to trade commodities and goods and services in US dollars. This has always struck me. Who says it? Find me a sovereign wealth fund Russia? Let me invest there. What a great idea. That’s what it’s all about. That place is turning into an economic wasteland. What more can I say? They won’t let them have US dollars until [Russia] cleans up their act.”
