US dollar’s share of global FX reserves hits lowest level this century

The US dollar once commanded more than 70% of the world’s foreign exchange reserves. That number now starts with a five.

According to IMF COFER data, the dollar’s share of allocated global reserves fell to 56.32% in Q2 2025, down from 57.79% just one quarter earlier. That marks the lowest reading this century, a milestone that would have seemed far-fetched when the greenback accounted for roughly 72% of reserves back in 2000.

A long, slow slide

The dollar has shed roughly 14 percentage points of its reserve share since the early 2000s. That’s meaningful, but it’s also happened over a quarter century.

The decline hasn’t been a straight line, either. After hitting 56.32% in Q2 2025, the dollar’s share ticked up to 56.77% in Q4 2025, then bounced further to 57.13% in Q1 2026. The rebound was largely attributed to valuation effects, meaning the dollar’s price appreciation mechanically inflated its share of reserves, rather than central banks actively buying more greenbacks.

For context, the dollar sat at 64.7% as recently as Q1 2017. Losing more than eight percentage points in under a decade is a pace that central bank watchers take seriously.

Total allocated foreign exchange reserves reached around $13.14 trillion by the end of 2025. The euro, the dollar’s closest competitor, holds roughly 20% of that total.

Where the money is going

The 14 percentage points the dollar has lost since 2000 didn’t migrate to one obvious successor. Instead, they’ve been distributed across a basket of currencies and, increasingly, gold.

The euro has held relatively steady at its 20% share. The Japanese yen, Chinese renminbi, British pound, and a collection of smaller currencies have each absorbed modest portions of the shift.

China’s renminbi, despite being the obvious candidate for disruption, still represents a tiny fraction of global reserves. Capital controls, limited convertibility, and trust deficits make it a hard sell for reserve managers who need liquidity above all else.

What this means for investors

A lower share of reserves means slightly less structural demand for US Treasuries and dollar-denominated debt. Over time, that can translate into higher borrowing costs for the US government, a dynamic that eventually flows through to interest rates, mortgage pricing, and corporate debt markets.

Neither Bitcoin nor stablecoins have played a direct role in shifting central bank reserve allocations so far. Reserve managers at central banks are, by nature, among the most conservative institutional actors on the planet.

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