Abstract. Approaches to the formation of a “basket” of reserve currencies and the use of national currencies in international financial relations are highly controversial, and their relevance is increasing due to manifestations of geopolitical tension on a global scale. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of the formation of world reserve currencies in the context of globalization. The object of the study is the world monetary and financial system and the international financial organizations that ensure its activities, within the framework of which the mechanisms for regulating international financial relations operate. The subject of the study is the currencies of developed countries: the US dollar, euro, pound sterling, yen, as well as the PRC currency yuan, which are entrusted with the functions of forming world currency reserves by global governance bodies. The chronological framework for the analysis of the structure and dynamics of world reserve currencies is presented by the period from 1996 to 2024. Data on actual and projected growth rates of world GDP per capita cover the period from 2006 to 2025. In preparing the work, a number of general scientific and applied research methods were used, special scientific terminology was applied. The results of the study revealed trends in changes in the dynamics of world reserve currencies and their role in international settlements; presented mechanisms of influence of international financial institutions on global processes in the currency and financial sphere; established current trends in the formation of world currency reserves, changes in the positioning of world reserve currencies in global financial relations.
Keywords: globalization, world currency reserves, international relations, geopolitical factor, international financial organizations, positioning of national currencies.