Gold has long been the asset governments turn to in times of uncertainty. That demand has intensified, as geopolitical tensions, sanctions, and worries about the global financial order push c
Gold has long been the asset governments turn to in times of uncertainty. That demand has intensified, as geopolitical tensions, sanctions, and worries about the global financial order push central banks to rethink how they hold reserves.
That shift just hit a milestone. Gold has overtaken U.S. Treasury securities as a reserve asset held by central banks worldwide.
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According to a European Central Bank report released on June 2, gold now accounts for 27% of official reserve assets held by central banks, up seven percentage points from a year earlier. U.S. Treasuries fell three points to 22%.
It is the first time since the mid-1990s that gold has been the larger of the two. For most of the modern financial era, U.S. government bonds dominated reserves because of their liquidity, safety, and central role in the dollar-based system.
The ECB said the move was not driven by central-bank buying alone. Gold prices surged roughly 60% during 2025, sharply lifting the value of reserves countries already held. But the report said it also reflects years of steady accumulation and a deliberate push to diversify beyond dollar assets, an effort that accelerated after Washington froze Russia's dollar reserves following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Central banks have spent years diversifying as concerns about geopolitical fragmentation grew.
Paolo Ardoino, chief executive officer of Tether Holdings Ltd.Per OMFIF's 2025 Global Public Investor survey, 31% of reserve managers cited geopolitics as the most important factor in their decisions, up from just 4% a year earlier. Seventy percent said they are increasingly concerned about the U.S. political environment, and nearly a third plan to add gold over the next 12 to 24 months.
The buying backs that up. Central banks bought roughly 863 metric tonnes of gold in 2025, according to World Gold Council data, with China, Poland, Brazil, Kazakhstan, and Turkey among the largest buyers.
The ECB report flagged an unexpected name in the gold market: stablecoin issuer Tether.
Tether bought more than 100 tonnes of gold during 2025, more than any single central bank. Poland was the largest official-sector buyer, adding roughly 100 tonnes, and Tether's purchases were larger still.
The ECB said it shows how large stablecoin issuers are becoming meaningful players in global reserve markets. As stablecoins keep growing, the report noted, their reserve decisions could start to carry the kind of macroeconomic weight once reserved for governments and central banks.
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