Gold Is Exploding but Central Banks Are Not Buying More

Show Notes

This episode tackles the surge in gold prices and asks a simple but uncomfortable question. Is central bank buying really driving the move. Matthew begins by walking through global gold reserves using ounces rather than tons to keep dollar comparisons clear. He compares Poland, China, Russia, India, Europe, and the United States to show scale and context. While headlines focus on China and other autocratic states buying gold, the data shows a very different story when viewed globally. Matthew explains that total central bank gold holdings have grown at roughly 1.2 percent per year since 2009. Crucially, that growth rate has not increased since gold prices began rising sharply in late 2022. In fact, global central bank gold accumulation is slightly slower during the exact period when gold prices have been rising at roughly 40 percent per year. Even China and India are buying gold at rates equal to or below their long term averages, while Russia has not added to its reserves at all. He contrasts this with Bitcoin, which remains near the 30th percentile in dollar terms and at historically extreme lows when priced in gold. Matthew argues that gold’s price action is increasingly detached from central bank demand and driven by market psychology rather than fundamentals. He closes by framing Bitcoin and gold as parallel valuation governors, with Bitcoin offering significantly more upside from current relative levels. Porkopolis Economics - Episode 315 Chapters: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:07 - Gold Reserves and China's Strategic Buying 00:03:29 - Global Gold Reserves Comparison Analysis 00:09:07 - Gold Holdings: West vs East Comparison 00:18:42 - Central Bank Gold Reserves Growth Analysis 00:21:47 - Global Central Bank Gold Reserves Unchanged 00:24:09 - China and Russia's Gold Reserve Growth Rates 00:26:06 - Russia's Stagnant Gold Reserves Amid Rising Prices 00:29:57 - Central Bank Gold Buying vs Price Growth 00:33:42 - Central Banks Gold Purchases and Bitcoin Market Analysis 00:37:56 - Bitcoin's Price Governors: Gold and Dollar Relationships 00:41:46 - Understanding Bitcoin Charts and Price Trends 00:45:38 - Geopolitical Tensions and Bitcoin Market Analysis 00:49:08 - JP Morgan's Bitcoin Strategy and Market Cycles 00:53:39 - Bitcoin's Strength Against Gold Price Metrics Show Sponsor: Debifi - https://debifi.com/ Donations to Porkopolis Economics via BTCPay are appreciated: https://donations.porkopolis.io/ Porkopolis Economics covers macroeconomics, money, geopolitics and sports from the creator of the Crypto Voices podcast, Matthew Mezinskis. Data-driven. Scale matters. Smaller, decentralized states means more opportunity for liberty than larger ones. Host: Matthew Mezinskis https://porkopolis.io https://x.com/1basemoney Show content is not investment or financial advice in any way. 🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/6266922845601792