Gold has surpassed the euro as the world’s second-largest reserve asset, comprising 20% of central bank holdings compared to the European currency’s 16%. This systemic shift is reflective of an evolving global financial landscape as governments grow skeptical of fiat currencies and an interconnected economy. Central banks have doubled their annual gold consumption since 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent economic fallout. Beyond merely protecting against financial instability, gold’s rising share of global reserves is the result of a movement away from the Western-led global financial ... (full story)