The evolution of the international monetary system towards a more multipolar configuration is not only reflective of fundamentals but of increasing fragilities and uncertainty. In this paper, we map the trajectories of the big four (EUR, GBP, JPY, USD) and secondary currencies (AUD, CAD, CHF, CNY) in the past decade and argue that the system is increasingly illadapted to thereconfiguration of the globaleconomy, bringing to theforefront the need, in particular, for a reliable alternative international reserve asset.