Central Banks Now Hold More Gold Than U.S. Treasuries

Central banks now hold more gold than U.S. Treasuries for the first time since 1996, prompting big questions about the health of the dollar and the future of “hard money” in the global financial system.

Is this just a passing phase or a seismic reset in reserve management? And perhaps more intriguingly, what does this central bank pivot mean for the future of Bitcoin as an emerging reserve asset?

A Historic Shift: From U.S. Treasuries to Gold

Let’s start with the numbers. Central banks hold around 36,700 tons of gold, worth an eye-watering $4.5 trillion, compared to $3.5 trillion in U.S. Treasuries, a reversal not seen since the mid-90s.

This milestone hasn’t happened on a whim. A record-breaking spree of gold buying (over 1,045 tons purchased last year) shows governments are favoring gold’s permanence over Washington’s paper promises, as repeated fiscal standoffs and soaring U.S. debt raise real doubts about Treasury reliability.

Why Are Central Banks Buying Gold Instead of Dollars?

The World Gold Council’s latest survey says it all: central banks have accumulated over 1,000 tons of gold in each of the last three years (more than double the 400–500 ton annual average of the previous decade).

At the core, central banks are hedging against currency risk, inflation, and systemic instability in the fiat monetary system. As gold strategist Christopher Louney told Reuters:

Trust in Fiat Is Cracking

The move is also psychological, as Michelle Makori of CNN warns: “Trust in fiat is cracking.”

Central banks’ embrace of gold shows the eroding faith in sovereign debt and signals that governments themselves are bracing for more turbulent times by seeking tangible insurance.

Balaji Srinivasan, speaking at Bitcoin Asia, reinforced this thesis:

Balaji argues that new monetary networks such as Bitcoin are now being considered as core reserves, not just speculative bets. Macro analyst Lyn Alden commented:

Her thesis? As trust in fiat and sovereign bonds declines, central banks and investors will seek alternatives: gold, hard assets, and increasingly, digital assets like Bitcoin.

Alden’s work points out that the decline in dollar dominance is not a crash, but a gradual slide toward more diversified, technologically advanced reserve assets.

Bitcoin’s Role in the Shift

This historic shift isn’t just about gold. Just this week, the U.S. government announced the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, committing to treat Bitcoin as a permanent reserve asset (no more selling seized coins, now it’s part of the national financial strategy).

Other countries, including Brazil and Russia, are moving toward announcing Bitcoin reserves as well, with institutional buyers and central banks positioning digital assets as insurance against future dollar volatility.

For Bitcoin, these developments ratify the “digital gold” narrative. When central banks diversify, they often point the way for private capital, sovereign wealth funds, and retail investors.

As hard assets gain favor, Bitcoin is primed not just as a risk asset but as a pillar of new-age reserve management.

The pivot to gold (and now Bitcoin) is a signal flare for the future of monetary policy.

It points to a world where trust must be rebuilt on transparency: tangible assets, physical gold, and cryptographically secure digital money.

For investors, it means the search for safety isn’t only about shielding against inflation and dollar weakness, but finding assets that central banks quietly make core to their balance sheets.

In a more “multipolar,” unpredictable system, Bitcoin could be the next sanctuary, right alongside gold.