Gold Breaks Records: Why Central Banks Around the World Are Buying the Precious Metal and Getting Rid of the Dollar

Author and Editor-in-Chief: Vitaliy Kisterny 02.09.2026 20:15:00

In 2026, gold became the main beneficiary of global de-dollarization. Central banks around the world are purchasing record volumes of the precious metal, and the share of the dollar in global reserves fell to a minimum since 1995.

From 2020 to 2026, almost $3.2 trillion was withdrawn from dollar reserves. For the first time in the entire history of observations, the number of central banks planning to reduce dollar reserves in the next decade exceeded the number that intend to increase them.

The world quietly and methodically prepares for life without the dollar as the sole reserve currency. And gold is becoming the main instrument of this quiet revolution.

Photo: © Belnovosti / US dollar. Author Vitaliy Kisterny Quiet Revolution: Central Banks Turn Away from the Dollar

De-dollarization has stopped being a conspiracy theory. It is a real trend that the International Monetary Fund records. The share of the dollar in global currency reserves at the end of Q1 2026 fell to 56.92%. In 2001, this figure was 72%. Losing 15 percentage points over 25 years is no longer a fluctuation, but a sustained trend.

For the first time in the history of OMFIF surveys, the majority of global central banks plan to reduce the dollar share in reserves over the next decade, rather than increase it. Central banks expect that in ten years the dollar will occupy on average about 52 % of the reserve portfolio—a loss of another 5 percentage points over a decade.

Why is this happening? The main reason is geopolitical uncertainty and the use of the dollar as a weapon. The freezing of Russian reserves in 2022 showed the world that dollar assets can be seized or confiscated.

As senior economist OMFIF Yara Aziz notes, “the previous assumption that state investors could wait for normalization of the situation looks increasingly unrealistic.”

Golden Renaissance: Central Banks Buy Record Volumes

The main beneficiary of de-dollarization is gold. Thirty percent of central banks intend to increase investments in the precious metal in the next 1–2 years—the highest figure among all asset classes[reference:24].

Over the past four years, central banks worldwide have purchased on average about 1,000 tonnes of gold annually—twice as much as in the previous decade. In 2026, the trend intensified: in the first half of the year, net purchases exceeded 600 tonnes, a record for the comparable period.

China, India, Russia, Turkey, and several other countries are actively expanding their gold reserves. China has already recorded the outcome: China's gold reserves have exceeded $340 billion, and their share in the overall foreign‑exchange reserves has doubled over the past three years.

Why gold? This precious metal is independent of any single issuer; it cannot be frozen or confiscated. In an era of geopolitical uncertainty, that becomes critically important. Experts note that when central banks buy gold in bulk, they do so not out of historical romanticism. It is a rational response to the risks associated with the dollar system.

79 % of central banks believe in a multipolar world

An OMFIF survey showed that 79 % of central banks and 60 % of sovereign wealth funds are confident that the global monetary system is moving toward a “multipolar” arrangement. This means the dollar will cease to be the sole reserve currency, and several currencies and gold will take its place.

The report names the Norwegian krone, the New Zealand dollar, and the British pound as alternative reserve currencies that are gradually increasing their share. The Chinese yuan is also advancing actively, though its share in reserves remains modest.

What this means

The dollar will not collapse tomorrow—there is no alternative yet. But its monopoly has cracked, and that crack is widening every day. Central banks around the world are quietly and methodically reducing dollar holdings while increasing gold and other assets.

The process of de‑dollarization will take years, but it is already irreversible. Experts note that gold remains one of the few monetary assets that have no counterparty risk. In a world where confidence in the dollar is waning, that becomes an invaluable quality.

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