In a significant shift toward financial diversification, El Salvador has acquired 13,999 ounces of gold worth nearly $50 million, its first such purchase since 1990. The move is widely seen as a strategy to stabilize its reserve portfolio, which has become heavily weighted toward Bitcoin in recent years.
The purchase was confirmed by El Salvador’s central bank in a social media post on Wednesday, raising the country’s total gold reserves to 58,105 ounces, currently valued at around $207 million. The decision comes at a time when gold is trading near record highs of $3,600 per ounce, having climbed over 36% year-to-date amid strong demand from global central banks.
El Salvador’s decision to return to gold follows years of aggressive Bitcoin adoption led by President Nayib Bukele, who made the country the first in the world to accept BTC as legal tender in 2021. As of July 2025, Bitcoin accounts for roughly $700 million of the nation’s $4.7 billion in net international reserves.
Analysts view the gold acquisition as a signal to global markets that El Salvador is seeking to mitigate the risks associated with crypto volatility. The move aligns with a broader international trend: central banks around the world are increasing their gold holdings as a hedge against inflation, geopolitical uncertainty, and declining confidence in dollar-denominated assets.
According to the World Gold Council, central banks have added over 1,000 tonnes of gold annually for the past two years and are on track to match that figure again in 2025. Gold now represents nearly one-fifth of all global reserve assets, second only to the U.S. dollar.
Goldman Sachs recently projected that if current political and economic trends persist, gold could surge to $5,000 per ounce as both institutions and governments reallocate reserves toward hard assets like bullion.
For El Salvador, the gold purchase represents a broader recalibration of its financial strategy—one that balances innovation with fiscal caution.
