Barry Eichengreen is a well known author, economist, and economic historian from the University of California, Berkeley. In Barry&#x27;s first appearance on the show he discusses a career in untangling the world&#x27;s monetary history, the origins of his new book Money Beyond Borders: Global Currencies from Croesus to Crypto, the first uses on currencies in the 7th Century BC, the unexpected start of the dollar, how we landed on the central bank model, the dollar&#x27;s rise to global reserve currency, which if any currencies as poised to take on the dollar, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week&#x27;s episode, now with links. Recorded on May 27th, 2026 Subscribe to David&#x27;s Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Barry on X: @B_Eichengreen Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:17 - Barry&#x27;s Books 00:10:14 - Money Beyond Borders 00:17:17 - Lydia and Greece 00:20:46 - Renaissance of Credits 00:23:36 - Spanish Silver 00:28:26 - The Emergence of Central Banks 00:38:11 - British Empire vs. Roman Empire 00:43:34 - Dollar as One of the Dominant Reserve Currencies 00:56:29 - Outro

Barry Eichengreen on the History of Global Currencies

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Welcome to Macro Musings, where each week we pull back the curtain and take a closer look at the most important macroeconomic issues of the past, present, and future. I am your host, David Beckworth, a Senior Research Fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and I'm glad you decided to join us. Our guest today is Barry Eichengreen.

Barry is a well-known economist and economic historian from the University of California, Berkeley, where he has authored over 30 books, many on the international monetary system. Today, he joins us to discuss his latest book, Money Beyond Borders, Global Currencies from Cresses to Crypto. It's a sweeping 2,500-year history of cross-border money, stretching from the very first ancient coins to the rise of cryptocurrencies and central bank digital tokens.

In a world-facing rising political gridlock and the constant talk of de-dollarization, this book uses the patterns of the past to show us exactly how global reserve currencies rise, how they fall, and what the future holds for the U.S. dollar. Barry, welcome to the program. Good to be with you, David. I'm a fan of the podcast. Well, thank you.

Well, I am a fan of your work, and you are one of those individuals who's been influential on me, even though you didn't know it, but all your scholarship, your work. And we're here to talk about your most recent book here, as I hold it up in front of the camera for those watching the video, Money Beyond Borders. But, Barry, I have to say you've written many other books. Now, I said 30. 30 may be the low end. We can talk about that.

Barry Eichengreen on the History of Global Currencies

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Barry Eichengreen on the History of Global Currencies

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.