Macro Musings with David Beckworth · Monday, August 3, 2026
Brendan Greeley argues that monetary sovereignty is not inherent but must be earned over time and is constantly tested. He points to the US adopting Spanish silver coins as its currency at its founding, suggesting that a nation's monetary power is not guaranteed. Greeley emphasizes that the spread of a currency internationally is not solely driven by empire but by the currency's intrinsic utility and how it impacts the empires that adopt it.
“We are taught to assume monetary sovereignty. We assume that a country has control over its own money. It can lose that control if it administers it poorly, but in general, new country, new currency.”
“And when America was founded as a new country, it didn't. What it chose instead, as its currency was a coin from the Spanish Empire made out of Mexican silver at the time and Bolivian silver, with a German name.”
“And that to me suggests that sovereignty, or at least monetary sovereignty, is not something that we can assume, but something that we have to win slowly over time and is constantly being tested.”
“And so, when I look at this history of the dollar, empire certainly plays a role. But what I don't think is true is that the domestic currency of an empire spreads beyond its borders.”