hard currency

American  

noun

1. money that is backed by gold reserves and is readily convertible into foreign currencies.

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Example Sentences

The app lets users exchange hard currency for dollar-pegged stablecoins so that users can make payments and interact with the traditional banking system.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026

“We could not buy spare parts for machinery, for example. They all had to be paid for in hard currency that we mostly couldn’t access,” he said.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 8, 2026

“It would be really helpful to accumulate hard currency, which is not a minor advantage for Argentina,” said Benjamin Gedan, an Argentina expert and director of the Stimson Center’s Latin America program.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

Melissa did not cause fatalities in Cuba, according to authorities, but it knocked the stuffing out of the impoverished Caribbean nation, where fuel, electricity, hard currency and affordable foodstuffs were already in short supply.

From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025

Now that sanctions on Serbia have been suspended, the falloff in hard currency earnings from smuggling will aggravate unemployment problems.

From The 1996 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency