Gold overtakes US Treasuries in reserves: demand signals for mine planners
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Gold has overtaken US Treasuries as the second-largest global reserve asset, with bullion rising to 27% of central bank reserves by value at end-2025 versus 22% for Treasuries, while dollar assets still dominate at 42%, the ECB reports. Central banks now hold over 36,000 tonnes of gold, near Bretton Woods-era levels, with 2025 net purchases of 850 tonnes driven by buyers including China, Poland, Turkey, India and notably Tether, which alone acquired more than 100 tonnes. The ECB also notes euro-denominated international debt issuance jumped 30% in 2025 to nearly €1 trillion.
Technical Brief
- ECB attributes bullion demand partly to post-2022 sanctions risk after Washington froze Russia’s dollar reserves.
- Reserve gold holdings are now comparable to Bretton Woods-era stockpiles when currencies were formally linked to gold.
- World Gold Council estimated foreign central banks’ bullion at nearly $4 trillion versus about $3.9 trillion in Treasuries.
- Foreign institutions last held more gold than US government bonds in 1996, marking a 30‑year reversal.
- Central bank net gold buying in 2025 eased to 850 tonnes after three years above 1,000 tonnes annually.
- Stablecoin issuer Tether emerged as single largest 2025 buyer, accumulating over 100 tonnes of bullion.
- Turkey offloaded or loaned 130 tonnes in early 2026 after adding 220 tonnes since 2022, a major drawdown.
- Euro-denominated international debt issuance climbed 30% in 2025 to nearly €1 trillion, boosting euro’s external funding role.
Our Take
Tether’s role as the largest single gold buyer in 2025 introduces a non-traditional, crypto-linked actor into what has historically been a central-bank-dominated market, signalling that future reserve and liquidity planning for gold miners may need to account for more volatile, technology-driven buying patterns.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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