According to the European Central Bank, gold has surpassed U.S. Treasuries among global central bank reserves for the first time.
The reason is not just the price of gold. Central banks’ decisions are increasingly influenced by geopolitics, sanctions risks, and the desire of some countries to be less dependent on dollar assets.
Gold Takes the Top Spot
By the end of 2025, gold accounted for 27% of global central bank reserves. A year earlier, its share was 20%.
The share of U.S. government bonds, on the other hand, declined. Over the same period, it fell from 25% to 22%. Euro assets changed little and remained at 15%.
This is a significant shift for the market. For decades, U.S. Treasuries were the main reserve asset for central banks. They were held for liquidity, stability, and ease of working with currency rates.
Now, gold has taken the top spot. More and more central banks are using it as an asset that is not dependent on decisions made by other countries.
U.S. Sanctions Changed the Approach to Reserves
The events of 2022 gave a strong push to this trend. After part of Russia’s reserves were frozen, the issue of storing government assets began to be discussed much more frequently. A number of countries started to actively increase their gold reserves, and central bank purchases reached their highest levels in recent years.
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The ECB believes that regulators’ decisions are increasingly influenced by the geopolitical situation. According to Christine Lagarde, central bank demand for gold remains high amid ongoing international tensions.
This has become an important argument for central banks. Bonds and currency assets can be affected by decisions of other states, while gold is stored differently and is seen as a more independent reserve.
Will This Affect Demand for the Dollar
There is no talk yet of a sharp rejection of the dollar or U.S. government debt. U.S. Treasuries still account for more than a fifth of global reserves, and the dollar remains the key currency for trade and finance.
But ECB data shows an important detail: central banks have not massively shifted to the euro. Its share has barely changed. The main inflow went to gold.
In recent years, the most active gold buyers have been China, India, Turkey, and Poland. After 2022, state purchases continued to rise, becoming one of the main factors in the restructuring of global reserves.
