The world now has more money in circulation than at any point in recorded financial history. Global broad money supply reached $150 trillion in June 2026, a year-over-year increase of $10.7 trillion, representing a 7.7% annual growth rate.
To put that in perspective: the entire global broad money stock stood at just $26 trillion in 2000. In roughly a quarter century, the world has nearly sextupled the amount of money sloshing through its financial system.
Who’s holding what
China is the single largest contributor to global money holdings, sitting on $52.6 trillion, which is 35% of the worldwide total. The US comes in second with $23.2 trillion, about 15.4% of the total. The EU follows closely at $22.8 trillion, or 15.2%. Japan accounts for $10.2 trillion and the UK holds $5.2 trillion, representing 6.8% and 3.4% of the global figure respectively.
One of the more striking structural features of this data: advanced economies and emerging markets and developing economies each contribute roughly $75 trillion to the total.
For context on what “broad money” actually means: think of it as the widest practical lens through which economists measure money. It captures not just physical cash and checking accounts, but also savings deposits, money market funds, and other near-liquid instruments. The narrower M2 measure, which most people are more familiar with, was running in the $98 trillion to $120 trillion range in mid-2026.
The acceleration story
Growth in the global money supply didn’t arrive at 7.7% overnight. The pace of expansion has been accelerating since April 2025, peaking at a sharp 11.9% year-over-year in February 2026 before moderating through the spring and into June.
Part of the June slowdown in the percentage figure reflects currency dynamics rather than an actual cooling in monetary creation. As the US dollar depreciated against other major currencies, the dollar-denominated aggregation of foreign money supplies naturally inflated.
The compound annual growth rate since 2000 sits at roughly 6.9%, meaning this is not a sudden anomaly. It is the continuation of a decades-long structural trend, punctuated by bursts of acceleration following major global stress events.
A notable observation from late August and early September 2026 reinforced a concern that has been quietly building among economists: excess cash growth is now outpacing nominal GDP in a significant number of economies.