- Deutsche Bank says gold now represents 24% of central bank reserves, the highest share since the 1990s.
- Analyst Marion Laboure sees parallels between gold and Bitcoin as safe-haven assets with low correlation to traditional markets.
- Deutsche Bank forecasts that both Bitcoin and gold could become part of central bank reserves by 2030.
In a new Deutsche Bank report, global central banks are expanding their gold holdings at a pace not seen in decades. This trend may carry significant implications for Bitcoin as policymakers and investors reassess stores of value amid shifting monetary dynamics.
Bank strategists note that gold’s share of central bank reserves rose to 24% in the second quarter — the highest level since the 1990s — signaling renewed confidence in the precious metal as central banks diversify away from fiat currencies.
Deutsche Bank’s findings point out that the resurgence of gold and Bitcoin’s momentum in 2025 share several common characteristics, particularly as market participants look for alternative value reserves during economic uncertainty.
Central bank gold accumulation hits multi-decade highs
The report shows that official demand for gold has roughly doubled compared with the 2011–2021 average, reflecting intensified efforts by central banks to broaden their reserve compositions beyond major fiat currencies.
Strategists call this a “significant shift in global finance,” echoing patterns from the 20th century when gold played a dominant role in global reserves.
This renewed accumulation of gold has coincided with the metal reaching new inflation-adjusted highs. While nominal gold prices have set records in recent years, Deutsche Bank observes that only recently has gold surpassed its real peak from around 1980.
“It is only in the past weeks that gold has finally exceeded its historical inflation-adjusted highs from roughly 45 years ago,” the bank’s strategists wrote.
They attribute the decades-long gap between these milestones to several factors, including central bank sales of gold, institutional sell-offs, and the rise of the fiat currency era.
The report also notes that gold’s formal role as a reserve asset effectively ended in 1979, when the International Monetary Fund restricted member countries from linking exchange rates to gold — a development that cemented the close of the Bretton Woods system.
Bitcoin emerges as a modern parallel to gold
Marion Laboure, a macro strategist at Deutsche Bank, explored potential parallels between gold and Bitcoin in a report titled “The Reign of Gold, the Rise of Bitcoin.”
She points out that both assets have shown similar long-term performance patterns since their inceptions and share reputations for high volatility and intermittent periods of underperformance.
Laboure highlights that gold and Bitcoin both exhibit low correlation with traditional financial assets, making them attractive options for portfolio diversification.
These common traits, she suggests, help explain why investors and some policymakers view both assets as potential safe havens during periods of market stress.
While Laboure acknowledges that Bitcoin faces important hurdles — including volatility and limited institutional backing — she notes that Bitcoin’s volatility has eased to historically lower levels compared with prior cycles.
Other constraints remain, such as limited adoption, speculative behavior, cybersecurity risks, and liquidity limitations. These factors currently curb Bitcoin’s suitability as a mainstream reserve asset, even as institutional interest rises.
Looking ahead: Could Bitcoin and gold join central bank reserves by 2030?
Despite persistent skepticism among many policymakers, Laboure projects that both Bitcoin and gold could appear on central bank balance sheets by 2030.
This forecast reflects a gradual convergence between traditional and digital stores of value, driven by expanding institutional adoption of Bitcoin and central banks’ ongoing efforts to diversify reserve holdings.
However, she cautions that Bitcoin’s volatility and perceived risk profile remain major obstacles for central banks, whose primary mandate is to preserve capital and ensure financial stability.