By Reagan Steele – Business & Economic Policy Writer

A former executive director at the International Monetary Fund says the greatest threat to the U.S. dollar isn’t China, Russia, or BRICS — it’s Washington itself.

Brazilian economist Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr. argued in a recent interview that America’s growing reliance on sanctions, asset freezes, and financial coercion is pushing the rest of the world to quietly build an exit ramp away from the dollar.

“The main enemy of the dollar and of the international payment system controlled by the West is the US itself,” Batista said, warning that the “abusive use” of tools like SWIFT restrictions and foreign-reserve seizures has sparked a worldwide search for alternatives.

According to Batista, confidence in the dollar took a historic hit after the U.S. and its allies froze roughly $300 billion in Russian central-bank assets in 2022 — an unprecedented step that signaled to many non-Western economies that their reserves were only safe “until Washington gets angry.”

He calls 2022 a “watershed moment,” noting a steady trend of central banks — especially China’s — reducing exposure to U.S. Treasuries and shifting toward national-currency trade.

The data in the IMF’s own COFER tables backs that up: as shown in the chart on page 3 of the document, the dollar’s share of global reserves has slid for four straight years, dipping to 56.9% by late 2025, its lowest level in three decades.

Batista expects the greenback to remain important, but no longer hegemonic.

The core of his warning is simple: If Washington keeps using the dollar as a weapon, the rest of the world will eventually decide it’s too dangerous to hold.