Gold has overtaken US Treasury securities in the world’s central bank reserves, the European Central Bank reported last week, as governments keep buying bullion to guard against geopolitical risk.
In its annual review of the euro’s international role, the European Central Bank (ECB) said gold made up 27% of global central bank reserve assets at the end of 2025, up from 20% a year earlier, while the share of US Treasuries fell to 22% from 25% and euro reserves held steady at 15%.
That places official gold holdings near a historic peak. The ECB said central banks now hold more than 36,000 tonnes, close to the 38,000 tonnes of the Bretton Woods era, when the dollar was pegged to bullion. A sharp rally in the gold price did part of the work, and steady buying did the rest.
The motive is defensive. ECB President Christine Lagarde wrote that “geopolitical tensions continue to drive strong central bank demand for gold.” The shift gathered pace after Western governments froze Russia’s foreign reserves following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a move that showed how quickly assets held abroad can be locked away. Gold sitting in a domestic vault carries no counterparty and cannot be frozen by another state.
The pattern shows in the data. The ECB noted that in five of the ten largest annual jumps in gold’s reserve share since 1999, the country involved had been sanctioned that year or the one before. Türkiye, India, China and Poland have led recent buying, together adding more than 600 tonnes since late 2021.
The dollar is far from finished. By the International Monetary Fund’s measure of allocated reserves, the US currency still holds around 58%, down from 70% in 2000 but well clear of any rival. Treasuries also offer a depth and liquidity gold cannot match, and most central banks are diversifying rather than abandoning the dollar.
What the figures capture is a slow rebalancing, not a rupture. Governments are spreading reserves across more assets to avoid leaning on any single one, and for now gold is the clearest winner. With prices high and geopolitical strains persisting, the buying looks set to continue.
