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?The value of the debt in terms of their domestic currencies has gone up, the debt servicing costs have gone up,? said Eswar Prasad, a professor of economics at Cornell University. ?And usually, when the dollar strengthens, it makes it much harder to get new loans in dollar terms.?

For the U.S., it would likely mean less access to capital, higher borrowing costs and lower stock market values, among other effects. Having the world's reserve currency has allowed the U.S. to run large deficits in terms of both international trade and government spending.

Calls to move away from the U.S. dollar are growing ? but the greenback is still king. More and more countries ? from Brazil to Southeast Asian nations ? are calling for trade to be carried out in other currencies besides the U.S. dollar.

Still, "no other currency has the recognizability, stability and economic might behind it," South Africa-based money manager Vestact said in a note to clients, per Bloomberg on May 10. "The only currency that is vaguely close to being able to replace the dollar is the euro."

Simply explained, in order to weaken its currency, a country sells its own currency and buys foreign currency ? usually U.S. dollars. Following the laws of supply and demand, the result is that the manipulating country reduces the demand for its own currency while increasing the demand for foreign currencies.

Central banks and governments can intervene to help stabilize a currency by selling off reserves of foreign currency or gold, or by intervening in the forex markets. Currency crises have occurred throughout modern history, most notably in Asia and Latin America during the 1990s.

The US dollar's role continues to be central to the functioning of the international financial system. The Bank of International Settlements estimates that the US dollar is involved in almost 90 per cent of foreign exchange transactions and accounts for 85 per cent of transactions in spot, forward and swap markets.