Ten years ago I asked the Federal Reserve Officials in New York to see their gold reserves. They refused firmly.
Reason? Fed officials have long proud of having the largest gold treasury in the world, dug 80 feet dug [około 24 m] under the surface of Manhattan. However, they prefer to remain discretion, partly because many of 507 thousand. Gold bar belongs to countries such as Germany and Italy. Silence was literally at a premium.
Now, however, there was a dissonant note. In recent weeks, politicians in Germany and Italy have demanded repatriation [zwrotu] your gold bars with an estimated value of $ 245 billion. [ponad 886 mld zł]. Similar demands were made by other countries. – We are very concerned about the interference of President Donald Trump in the independence of the Federal Reserve – explains the Association of Taxpayers of Europe.
Neither the Fed nor European governments seem to be willing to take action and there are no signs of moving gold to the east. On the contrary, since the selection of Trump, gold flows to America, and not flows from it, which causes speculation that US government agencies, like private investors, can accumulate its supplies (although there is no public evidence for it).
Either way, there is no doubt that appeals for repatriation are a sign of growing distrust. The reason why these bars went to New York treasures was the previous belief of America's allies that Washington is the responsible leader of the West and the financial system based on the dollar.
Charly Triballeau / Pool / AFP / AFP
Federal Reserve Bank in New York, USA, April 10, 2025.
Currently, however, members of the Trump team – including Stephen Miran, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, and Scott Bessent, Secretary of the US Treasury – express their dissatisfaction with the “costs” of this system. Investors must therefore ask themselves what other countries can do if trade wars also cause capital wars.
In Asia, this debate is already underway because investors are looking for diversification. One of the signals is a rapid increase in gold purchases. Other is the last unusual price fluctuation on markets in Hong Kong, which suggest reluctance to buy dollar assets.
Meanwhile, Chinese officials praise the growing use of Renminbi [oficjalnej waluty Chin] In commercial invoices and develop a Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) interbank payment system, which is to competition for the SWIFT inter-state payment system controlled by the United States.
Investors should also observe the so -called MBRIDGE initiative, a cross -border draft of the Digital Central Bank currency launched in 2023 by the Bank of International Settlements. Last year, Washington forced Bis to withdraw from this project, leaving China control. I suspect that this is a suicidal decision of the United States.
So far, Europe has behaved quite passively. However, characters such as Francois Heisbourg, a key European advisor, call for preparations for “Europe after America”. Although this has already caused the promises of increasing expenditure on the army, now attention is also focused on “geoeconomy”, i.e. the concept that state policy must direct industrial policy.
Analysts such as Elmar Hellendoorn from Atlantic Council want to go further, also proposing the policy of “geofinans”. He claims that Europe is susceptible to threats, because it is not only based on dollar finance, but is also exposed to speculative flow of capital as a result of financing its economy.
Therefore, “a significant part of the European economy is currently under strong influence, if not direct control, companies from Wall Street, which are ultimately subject to the Law of the United States and Washington's financial policy,” worries Hellendoorn. Enrico Letta, former Italian prime minister, is afraid that Europe is becoming the “financial colony” of the United States.
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Can this change? The European Commission takes small steps in this direction, accelerating activities to create a uniform European capital market. Central banks throughout Europe also develop cross -border digital currencies, and the European Central Bank itself creates a digital euro. This announces a fascinating political rivalry with Washington, which instead focuses on stableleins based on dollar – partly because Bessent believes that it will create a trillion of new demand for tax bonds.
However, these efforts still seem too shy to actually lead to the “global moment of the euro”, as Christine Lagarde, president of EBC, put it. The situation seems unlikely to change, unless there is a crisis, whether in the form of loss of market trust in the dollar (perhaps due to fiscal unrest) or extreme aggression of the United States towards Europe.
That is why the Gold Treasury in Manhattan is of such meaning: if such a crisis ever occurs, it is easy to imagine a script in which American leaders (at best) will insist on using this ore as a protection of dollar swaps or (in the worst case) as a tool of political coercion.
The German Bundesbank does not take into account this risk – at least in public. “We have no doubt that the Fed in New York is a trustworthy and reliable partner in storing our gold reserves,” FT said. This is almost certain. However, the debate shows that the scenarios that were once unthinkable are now at least taken into account. Gold recovery is a rational move.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
