The 2nd Worlds most popular Currency

The euro is currently the second most commonly held reserve currency, being approximately a quarter of allocated holdings. After World War II and the rebuilding of the German economy (see the Wirtschaftswunder), the German Deutsche Mark gained the status of the second most important reserve currency after the US dollar. When the euro was launched on January 1 1999, replacing the Mark, French Franc and nine other European currencies, it inherited the status of a major reserve currency from the Mark. Since then its contribution to official reserves has risen continually as banks seek to diversify their reserves and trade in the eurozone continues to expand. The New York Times Book Review also referred to the euro as the "Deutsch-Mark by another name".
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in September 2007 that the euro could replace the U.S. dollar as the world's primary reserve currency. It is "absolutely conceivable that the euro will replace the dollar as reserve currency, or will be traded as an equally important reserve currency." Econometrical analysis suggests, the euro may replace the U.S. dollar as the major reserve currency by 2020 if: (1) the remaining EU members, including the UK, adopt the Euro by 2020 or (2) the recent depreciation trend of the dollar persists into the future