“To alleviate the global recession, the G-20 group of nations recently agreed to authorize the International Monetary Fund to allocate $250 billion worth of Special Drawing Rights — the IMF’s unit of account — to its member states. This sparked much discussion on whether the SDR could become a new international currency, rivaling the U.S. dollar. Speculation was further fueled by the suggestions of Chinese officials that SDRs could displace the dollar in foreign exchange reserves. However, the SDR is not a currency and has no chance of becoming one.” Read more.

Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar
Development Policy Analysis, No. 10, July 7, 2009.
Via the Cato Institute.