Gold Surpasses US Treasuries in Central Bank Reserves

Gold has overtaken U.S. Treasuries among central banks’ favored reserve assets — underscoring a dramatic shift in how governments are protecting their national wealth, the Financial Times reports.

But the development does not mean the dollar has lost its position at the center of the global financial system.

Far from it.

US DOLLAR STILL RULES

The U.S. dollar still accounts for roughly 42% of global foreign-exchange reserves — making it by far the world’s dominant reserve currency.

International trade, global banking, commodity markets, and cross-border finance remain overwhelmingly dollar-based.

What has changed is how central banks are allocating the reserves that sit alongside those dollars.

According to data cited by the Financial Times, gold represented 27% of global central bank reserve assets at the end of 2025, up sharply from 20% a year earlier, allowing the precious metal to surpass U.S. Treasuries in reserve portfolios.

U.S. Treasuries accounted for roughly 20% of global central-bank reserve assets at the end of 2025, trailing gold’s 27% share.

This shift in central banks’ preference for gold over U.S. Treasury bonds gained momentum after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

In response to the war, the United States and its allies froze a substantial portion of Russia’s foreign reserves held within the Western financial system.

In January 2022, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation held approximately $3.9 billion in U.S. Treasury securities.

The sanctions demonstrated the power of the dollar-based financial system — but also highlighted a reality that many governments could no longer afford to ignore: Financial assets held within that system can become inaccessible during geopolitical conflicts.

Physical gold carries no such counterparty risk.

Unlike Treasury securities, bank deposits, or other financial assets, physical gold cannot be frozen by a foreign government once it is held inside a country’s own borders.

For many central banks, that distinction has become increasingly important.

Geopolitical tensions have only reinforced the trend.

The war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, growing U.S.-China rivalry, and rising concerns about sanctions have encouraged reserve managers to diversify.

Some of the largest gold buyers in recent years have included China, Poland, Turkey, and India, according to European Central Bank research.

Gold’s stunning rally has further accelerated the move.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, gold traded near $1,905 an ounce.

As of June 2, 2026, the precious metal is trading around $4,555 an ounce, a gain of roughly 139%.

Earlier this year, gold reached a record high near $5,400 an ounce on Jan. 28.

36,000 TONS

The surge has dramatically increased the value of official gold holdings.

Central banks collectively own approximately 36,000 tons of gold, worth roughly $5.2 trillion at current prices.

For comparison, foreign official institutions — including central banks and sovereign reserve managers — currently hold about $3.9 trillion in U.S. Treasuries, according to the latest Treasury Department data.

Both retail investors and major private buyers have joined the gold rush.

Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, purchased approximately 100 tons of gold in 2025 — equivalent to about 200,000 pounds and worth roughly $14.6 billion at current prices.

The scale of today’s buying has drawn comparisons to the Bretton Woods era, when gold occupied a central role in the international monetary system and the U.S. dollar itself was backed by bullion.

Yet the modern trend is not a rejection of the dollar.

If anything, it reflects the opposite. The same geopolitical tensions that have driven central banks toward gold also demonstrate the enduring power of the dollar-centered financial system.

GOLD INSURANCE

Central banks are not abandoning dollars by any stretch of the imagination.

They are supplementing them.

The dollar remains the world’s primary reserve currency — but an increasing number of governments are deciding that when uncertainty rises, war breaks out, or sanctions become a concern, gold provides a form of insurance that financial assets cannot.

That helps explain why central banks are accumulating bullion at the fastest pace in generations — and why gold has now surpassed U.S. Treasuries in central-bank reserve portfolios.