The use of the US dollar for cross-border transactions is on the rise, despite developing countries advancing de-dollarization policies. The settlements have also reached a new high, with local currency usage remaining distant behind the USD. The greenback suffered a blow as emerging economies pledged to sideline the currency, but it still rules the global financial markets.

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89.2% of Global Trade Was Paid in the US Dollar

According to the Bank for International Settlements Triennial Central Bank Survey, the US dollar appeared in 89.2% of all currency trades settled in 2025. This slightly rose from 88.4% in 2022, before the de-dollarization process went viral. Therefore, the pledge to end reliance on the USD has not worked, as the settlements rose by 0.8% since then.

In addition, the total daily trading in the US dollar reached a record high of $9.6 trillion in April 2025. The greenback remains the most-used currency in the market by a much wider margin. During the same period, the euro took a share of 28.9%. Also, the Japanese yen was used in 16.8% of trades, while the British pound was settled in 10.2% of trades.

However, the Chinese yuan came fifth, with a record of 8.5% in cross-border transactions. Its market share rose from 7.0% in 2022 to 8.5% in 2025. That’s a remarkable surge, but it still caused no dent to the US dollar and other leading currencies. The Chinese yuan remains in single digits despite the Xi Jinping administration aggressively pushing the currency to be used for all business deals in the country.

A large number of Chinese yuan payments are mostly settled outside mainland China. Around 30% of the settlements take place in Hong Kong, and 22% are done in the United Kingdom. These serve as the largest trading hubs for the local currency. That is not the case for the US dollar, as the currency is settled worldwide and does not have a single base system.