Gold Fails to Overtake Treasuries as Reserve Asset

Contrary to recent reports, gold did not surpass U.S. Treasury securities as the world's 'favorite' reserve asset in 2025.

The Federal Reserve argues that this comparison is problematic due to a surge in gold prices driven by private sector demand, which is not representative of central bank activity.

In fact, excluding the United States' large legacy gold holdings from the world total, foreign official holdings of U.S. Treasury securities still exceed gold reserves in dollar terms.

Most countries with significant gold reserves accumulated them before 1971, under the Bretton Woods system, while most foreign official holdings of Treasuries were acquired after 2000.