Money Beyond Borders: Global Currencies from Croesus to Crypto - Barry Eichengreen

Money Beyond Borders: Global Currencies from Croesus to Crypto

(Author: Barry Eichengreen)

A 2,500-year history of international currencies that reveals new insights about the future of the U.S. dollar, cryptocurrencies, and central bank digital currencies.

As worries grow over tariffs, political dysfunction, and shifting international alliances, questions about the global dominance of the U.S. dollar are intensifying. In Money Beyond Borders, world-renowned monetary economist Barry Eichengreen places the dollar’s future in deep historical perspective by tracing the entire arc of cross-border currencies—from seventh-century BCE coinage to digital assets and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Eichengreen chronicles how Greek and Roman coins became the first true international trade currencies, how the Florentine gold florin served as the "greenback of the Renaissance," and how power subsequently shifted to Spanish silver, Dutch fiat money, and the British pound. He explains why the dollar rose to global supremacy around World War II and how it has stubbornly survived past predictions of its demise.

Drawing on 2,500 years of monetary evolution, Eichengreen reveals that the very factors driving a currency's international dominance eventually cause its decline—and demonstrates why the dollar is entering the downside of this historical cycle.

Key Features:

• By a Leading Economic Historian: Authored by Barry Eichengreen, one of the world's foremost experts on international monetary systems.

• Comprehensive 2,500-Year History: Covers everything from ancient coinage and Renaissance trade currencies to the rise of the U.S. dollar, crypto, and CBDCs.

• Analysis of the Dollar's Future: Examines dedollarization trends, financial geopolitics, and potential global monetary successors.

• Essential Read for Finance Professionals & Historians: Ideal for economists, investors, policy analysts, and readers interested in global financial systems and geopolitical shifts.