The US dollar’s long-standing supremacy as a reserve currency, medium of exchange, and unit of account has been seriously challenged by the growing demand for de-dollarization from emerging nations. Reduced reliance on the US dollar is demanded, which was granted the coveted status by the Bretton Woods system put in place during World War II. China and Brazil agreed to settle trades in each other’s currencies late last month. And on Wednesday, Argentina said that it would stop using US dollars to pay for Chinese goods in order to protect its low foreign exchange reserves. The goal of all these actions is to encourage de-dollarization. But what is it exactly? And why are the nations choosing this course? Here is a clarification. The phrase may be new, but countries have long called for lessening their reliance on the US dollar. Many heads of state, like Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, have criticized US predominance in international trade. China and Russia too are among the nations that have supported de-dollarisation. In January this year, it was reported that Iran and Russia will jointly issue a new cryptocurrency backed by gold, to serve as a payment method in foreign trade. This is the latest step in creating a politically neutral reserve currency. What gives the US dollar the power in international trade? Although the dollar’s dominance has occasionally been questioned, it has persisted due to the enormous benefits of utilising the most frequently used currency for commerce. Since the United States survived the First World War uninjured, the pound sterling started to be replaced by the dollar as the primary international reserve currency in the 1920s. After World War II, the Bretton Woods system strengthened the dollar’s status. The 1944 agreement established a post-war international monetary framework that allowed the US dollar to become the world’s main reserve currency globally since the US emerged stronger from the Second World War.