Classic period of the international monetary system encompassed the gold standard from 1870 to 1914. The system was disrupted during World War I and the interwar period. The Bretton Woods system in 1944 linked the US dollar to gold, establishing the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The Nixon shock in 1971 ended the gold convertibility of the dollar, leading to floating exchange rates from 1973 onwards. The euro was introduced in 1999-2002. The crises of 1997-98 and 2008 influenced the evolution of the system