Gold is currently the second largest reserve asset of central banks, after the dollar.

Judge as of May 2026, by comparing the market value of central banks' official gold holdings with the value of their reserve holdings in each currency. True: gold's value is below US dollar reserves and above euro reserves and every other currency. Mostly true: gold and euro reserves are within about 5% of each other, so gold's second place depends on the valuation date or method. Mixed: gold ranks second on some reasonable measures (such as including or excluding certain holders) but third on others. Mostly false: gold is clearly third. False: gold ranks lower than third, or above the dollar.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 The international role of the euro, June 2026 European Central Bank · 2 June 2026

   “The share of gold in total official foreign reserves – comprising both foreign exchange and gold holdings – had increased to 27% at the end of 2025 (Chart 7, panel a). The share of gold now surpasses both that of the euro (15%) and US Treasuries (22%).”

2. E2 The international role of the euro, June 2026 European Central Bank · 2 June 2026

   “Correcting for such valuation effects by using the gold price at the end of 2023, the share of the euro (16%) remains at par with the share of gold (16%), while the share of US Treasuries continues to be markedly higher (26%).”

3. E3 IMF Data Brief: Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves International Monetary Fund · 1 July 2026

   “In 2025, gold surpassed US Treasuries as a share of official reserves, but that development was driven almost entirely by gold price valuation effects and is not reflected in COFER’s dollar share, which has remained broadly stable.”

4. E4 IMF Data Brief: Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves International Monetary Fund · 1 July 2026

   “The share of US dollar holdings in foreign exchange reserves increased to 57.13 percent in 2026Q1, from 56.42 percent in 2025Q4.”

The ECB reports that at end-2025, at market prices, gold made up 27% of total official reserves, against 15% for the euro and 22% for US Treasuries (E1). That puts gold well above the euro on a market-value basis at the end of 2025 [E1]. The IMF puts the dollar's share of foreign exchange reserves at about 56–57% in 2025Q4–2026Q1 (E4). Since foreign exchange is about 73% of total reserves (100% minus gold's 27%), the dollar comes to roughly 41% of total reserves, which is still above gold. Gold ties the euro only when valued at the end-2023 price (E2), but the criteria use market value, so gold ranks second after the dollar.