WILLEMSTAD – Global headlines increasingly suggest that the US dollar is losing its dominance. The Central Bank acknowledges a gradual decline in the dollar’s share of global reserves, but rejects the idea that its role is collapsing.
Importantly, the dollar’s loss has not primarily benefited the euro or other major currencies. Instead, reserve diversification has shifted toward smaller, non-traditional currencies and gold. Even so, the dollar remains dominant in trade invoicing, debt contracts, and cross-border financing — far beyond the United States’ share of global output.
The key reason, according to the Bank, is the absence of a true alternative. No other currency offers the same combination of deep financial markets, abundant safe assets, legal certainty, and global liquidity.
For Curaçao, the implication is straightforward: global trends matter less than local structure. As long as the island’s economy runs on dollars, abandoning the dollar would introduce risk without reward.
