95% of Central Banks to Keep Buying Gold as Dollar Reserve Share Drops Below 60%
The World Gold Council reports 95% of surveyed central banks expect to continue buying gold, signalling a durable shift in reserve strategy toward bullion. This development coincides with IMF data showing the US dollar’s share of global foreign-exchange reserves has fallen below 60%, a multi-decade low. Markets and policy commentators link rising central-bank gold purchases to concerns over sovereign credit risk in dollar assets and broader de-dollarization pressures. The trend—highlighted at recent global forums where central-bank demand, de-dollarization and Fed independence were discussed—implies structural reserve diversification that could reduce demand for dollar assets and raise long-term bullion demand. For crypto traders, growing central-bank appetite for non-sovereign, hard assets increases the narrative competition between gold and certain crypto assets (notably BTC as a digital store of value). Expect heightened volatility in precious metals and safe-haven markets, potential portfolio reallocations away from dollar-denominated assets, and renewed correlation analysis between gold and major crypto assets as traders reassess hedges against sovereign risk.
Neutral
Impact categorization: neutral. The news signals structural reserve diversification toward gold and away from dollar assets, which is a long-term bullish factor for gold and other hard assets but does not directly or immediately move cryptocurrency prices uniformly. For cryptocurrencies—especially Bitcoin as a digital-store-of-value narrative—the story is mixed: increased central-bank buying of gold strengthens the safe-haven allocative narrative that competes with BTC for institutional attention, which could be bearish for crypto allocation in the near term. Conversely, concerns about sovereign credit risk and de-dollarization can drive investors toward non-sovereign stores of value, a narrative supportive of Bitcoin over the medium-to-long term. Short term, expect increased correlation shifts and volatility as traders rebalance portfolios (possible temporary outflows from crypto into gold or dollars depending on risk sentiment). Over the long term, persistent de-dollarization and rising demand for non-sovereign hedges may support structural interest in crypto assets that claim store-of-value properties. Therefore, net immediate price impact on cryptocurrencies is ambiguous and likely neutral overall, while directional effects vary by time horizon and market sentiment.