Gold Overtakes U.S. Treasuries as Global Central Banks’ Largest Single Reserve Asset

**January 25 – Spot gold climbed another 1.01% intraday Wednesday, trading at $4,986.13 per ounce as of press time and inching toward the historic $5,000-per-ounce threshold, per Bitget market data.** Gold has overtaken U.S. Treasuries to become the world’s largest single reserve asset held by central banks — the first such historic reversal since 1996. Latest figures from the World Gold Council show the total value of non-U.S. central bank gold reserves has approached or topped $4 trillion, slightly exceeding the ~$3.9 trillion in U.S. Treasury bonds held by global central banks. In 2025, gold prices skyrocketed nearly 65% and set new all-time highs more than 50 times. On January 1, 2025, the metal traded at $2,624.27 per ounce, with an annual average of $4,318.53. Since the start of 2026, it has gained roughly 15% in just 25 trading days. Emerging market central banks have been the most active gold buyers, using the metal to hedge against geopolitical risks, U.S. dollar credit concerns, sanction risks, and the de-dollarization trend. Viewed as a "neutral" asset with no counterparty risk, gold now accounts for ~18% of global reserves. Global reserve management is undergoing structural shifts as central banks move away from heavy reliance on U.S. dollar assets toward diversified hard asset allocations. Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio said this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the global monetary order is collapsing, with the U.S. and its allies losing trust in one another — and he recommended buying gold. "In the past, people used fiat currencies and bonds as a ‘piggy bank,’ but central banks worldwide are now thinking there might be a ‘bomb’ in that piggy bank as the world heads toward a capital war," Dalio noted.