President Putin predicts the imminent end of the US dollar as a world reserve currency. There he is not the first and not the last. But what comes next?

Russian President Vladimir Putin has summed up the changing geopolitical realities in just five words: "The dollar will soon collapse."

First he explained the status quo: "The dollar enjoyed great confidence worldwide. But for some reason it is now being used as a political weapon to impose restrictions."

Then Putin explained the consequences: "Many countries are now turning away from the dollar as a reserve currency". And what finally happens: "The US dollar will soon collapse."

Well, since the 15th century the world has already seen six major currencies on a global scale. Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France, the UK and now the US have dominated the world's finances ever since. But even the US dollar, which has dominated events for around 100 years now, will not be able to do so for much longer.

But the question that ultimately arises is: What comes next? It is hard to believe that the euro or the Chinese yuan will assume this role. Rather, it seems, a global digital "crypto currency" is likely to assume this role. Corresponding advances in this direction have already been made.

Of course, Putin is not the first (and not the last) to suggest the end of the dollar. The former chief economist of the World Bank wants to replace the US dollar with a single global super currency and thus create a more stable global financial system:

"The dominance of the Greenback is the reason for the global financial and economic crisis," Justin Yifu Lin told Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank for policy research. "The solution is to replace the national currency with a global currency."

Warren Buffett once said: "For 240 years it has been a terrible mistake to bet against America and now is not the time to start.