The Great Monetary Shift: Why Gold and Silver Matter in an Era of De-Dollarization

The Return to Hard Assets

For decades, investors have been told that gold and silver are relics of a bygone era—barbarous remnants with no place in a modern portfolio. Yet something fundamental is changing in the global monetary system, and these ancient stores of value are experiencing a renaissance that serious investors cannot afford to ignore.

Central banks worldwide are accumulating gold at rates not seen since the 1960s. Nations are discussing commodity-backed currencies. The dollar’s share of global reserves continues its steady decline. Even major stablecoin issuers like Tether are shifting billions into physical gold reserves. These aren’t random events—they’re symptoms of a seismic shift in how the world thinks about money, value, and trust.

The Inflation Hedge That Actually Works

Let’s address the elephant in the room: inflation isn’t just a number the Federal Reserve targets at 2%. Real inflation—the kind that erodes purchasing power in food, energy, housing, and healthcare—has been running far hotter than official statistics suggest for years.

Gold and silver have historically served as insurance against this hidden tax. Unlike fiat currencies, which can be printed into oblivion by central banks seeking to finance government deficits or stimulate economies, precious metals have intrinsic scarcity. You cannot digitally create more gold. You cannot vote silver into existence.

When currencies lose purchasing power through monetary expansion, hard assets tend to preserve wealth. This isn’t theory—it’s thousands of years of monetary history. The Roman denarius was debased from pure silver to bronze-washed coins over centuries, and those who held actual silver maintained their wealth while the currency holders were wiped out.

The Dollar’s Diminishing Dominance

The U.S. dollar has enjoyed reserve currency status since Bretton Woods in 1944, and even more so after Nixon closed the gold window in 1971. This “exorbitant privilege” has allowed the United States to run massive trade deficits and finance unlimited government spending by exporting inflation to the rest of the world.

But privilege creates resentment, and resentment creates alternatives.

Consider the facts:

• The dollar’s share of global foreign exchange reserves has fallen from over 70% in 2000 to approximately 59% as of 2024¹

• The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) are actively working to create alternative payment systems that bypass the dollar, including the proposed BRICS Bridge blockchain payment system²

• Bilateral trade agreements are increasingly settled in local currencies rather than dollars—Russia and China now conduct over 90% of their bilateral trade in rubles and yuan, up from 90% in dollars in 2015³

• Sanctions on Russia accelerated the search for dollar alternatives, as nations realized their reserves could be weaponized

This isn’t happening overnight. De-dollarization is a slow-motion trend, like a glacier carving through a mountain. But the direction is clear, and the implications are profound.

Gold-Backed Currencies: Fiction or Future?

Here’s where it gets interesting. Several nations are now openly discussing backing their currencies with commodities, particularly gold. Russia has linked rubles to gold and commodities. China continues to accumulate massive gold reserves while simultaneously reducing its holdings of U.S. Treasuries. Middle Eastern oil producers are exploring settlement in currencies other than dollars.

The logic is straightforward: if your currency is backed by something tangible—gold, oil, agricultural commodities—it becomes more than a promise from a government. It becomes a claim on real assets. This is particularly attractive to nations that have watched decades of dollar debasement and want to protect their own economic sovereignty.

A gold-backed currency doesn’t mean a return to the classical gold standard where currencies are fully convertible at a fixed rate. Instead, we’re likely to see partial backing, where a percentage of the monetary base is supported by commodity reserves. This provides stability without the rigid constraints that doomed previous gold standards.

Silver: The Underappreciated Industrial Wildcard

While gold gets the headlines, silver deserves equal attention for different reasons. Silver is both a monetary metal and an industrial commodity, giving it dual demand drivers that gold lacks.

The industrial case for silver is compelling:

• Solar panels require significant silver for electrical conductivity

• Electric vehicles use substantially more silver than traditional cars

• 5G infrastructure and electronics manufacturing are silver-intensive

• Medical applications and water purification rely on silver’s unique properties

Unlike gold, roughly half of silver demand comes from industrial uses. This means silver benefits not just from monetary debasement fears, but also from the green energy transition and technological advancement. It’s a bet on both inflation and innovation.

The historical gold-to-silver ratio has averaged around 15:1 over millennia (based on relative natural abundance), but in recent decades has ranged from 30:1 to over 100:1. Currently sitting in the 80-85:1 range, this suggests silver may be undervalued relative to gold—though markets can maintain “irrational” ratios for extended periods.

The Portfolio Position: Allocation Strategy

So what does this mean for your portfolio?

First, understand that gold and silver are not income-producing assets. They don’t pay dividends. They don’t generate cash flow. They’re pure stores of value and speculation on future purchasing power. This means they compete with productive assets in your portfolio allocation.

For conservative, long-term wealth preservation:

• A 5-10% allocation to physical gold makes sense as portfolio insurance

• This acts as a hedge against currency debasement, geopolitical instability, and systemic financial risk

• Physical ownership (coins, bars) is preferable to paper claims for true monetary insurance

For more aggressive positioning with higher risk tolerance:

• Adding silver exposure (3-7% allocation) provides leverage to the precious metals thesis

• Silver’s higher volatility means larger swings in both directions

• Mining stocks (GDX, GDXJ, individual producers) offer operational leverage but add business risk

For tactical traders:

• ETFs like GLD and SLV provide liquidity for shorter-term positions

• Options on these ETFs allow for defined-risk directional positions

• Technical analysis can identify entry points during consolidations or breakouts

The key is matching allocation to objectives. If you’re protecting multi-generational wealth, physical gold is defensive. If you’re speculating on monetary regime change, silver and miners offer more upside potential with commensurate risk.

What Central Banks Know That You Should Too

Here’s a data point that should give you pause: central banks purchased a net 1,045 tonnes of gold in 2024, marking the third consecutive year that annual purchases exceeded 1,000 tonnes—far above the 473-tonne annual average between 2010-2021.⁴ These aren’t naive actors. Central banks employ teams of economists and analysts. They have perfect information about their own monetary policies.

And they’re buying gold at unprecedented rates.

The National Bank of Poland led all buyers in 2024 with 90 tonnes, bringing its total reserves to 448 tonnes (17% of total reserves). The Reserve Bank of India added 73 tonnes (up from just 16 tonnes in 2023), Turkey’s central bank accumulated 75 tonnes, and the Czech National Bank bought for the 21st consecutive month.⁵ Even more telling, the Reserve Bank of India and Central Bank of Nigeria both repatriated gold from overseas storage in 2024, citing concerns about exchange rate risk and desire for direct control over their reserves.⁶

Why? Because they understand that the current system—unlimited fiat currency creation backed by nothing but faith in government—is unsustainable. They’re positioning for a future where hard assets matter again, where monetary credibility comes from tangible reserves rather than merely printing press capacity.

China hasn’t reported its full gold holdings in years, though it added gold to reserves in November 2024 for the first time since April. Russia has been steadily accumulating. Poland, Hungary, and other Eastern European nations are repatriating gold from foreign vaults. This is defensive positioning by nation-states who see the writing on the wall.

If central banks are buying gold at record rates, perhaps individual investors should pay attention.

The Stablecoin Revolution: Tether’s Pivot to Hard Assets

Perhaps the most fascinating development in the de-dollarization narrative is happening not in central banks, but in the cryptocurrency world. Tether, the issuer of USDT—the world’s largest stablecoin with over $120 billion in circulation—has quietly become one of the world’s largest private holders of gold.

As of late 2024, Tether holds approximately $8.7 billion worth of physical gold, making it the largest independent gold holder in the private financial sector.⁷ The company now possesses over 116 tonnes of gold, rivaling the official reserves of nations like Indonesia, South Korea, Hungary, and Greece.⁸

This represents a profound strategic shift. Traditionally, stablecoins like USDT were backed primarily by U.S. Treasury bonds and cash equivalents. Tether still holds approximately $113 billion in U.S. Treasuries,⁹ but the addition of massive gold reserves signals something deeper: even crypto-native financial institutions are hedging against pure fiat backing.

The composition of Tether’s reserves as of Q4 2024 reveals this diversification strategy:¹⁰

• U.S. Treasury bonds: ~$113 billion

• Bitcoin: 82,454+ BTC (valued at approximately $7.8 billion)

• Physical gold: 116+ tonnes (valued at approximately $8.7 billion)

• Other assets and cash equivalents

Gold now constitutes roughly 7% of Tether’s total reserves, with about 12 tonnes backing its gold-backed token XAU₮, and the remaining 104 tonnes bolstering USDT reserves.¹¹ This is remarkable: a digital currency backed partially by the oldest form of money known to civilization.

Why Tether’s Gold Matters

Tether’s shift toward hard assets reflects the same concerns driving central bank behavior:

1. Inflation hedge: Physical gold provides protection against currency debasement that Treasury bonds cannot offer when central banks are actively printing money.

2. Geopolitical insurance: During periods of heightened global tensions and financial instability, gold serves as a universally recognized store of value that transcends political boundaries.

3. Credibility signaling: Backing a digital currency with tangible, auditable assets addresses long-standing transparency concerns about stablecoin reserves.

4. Competitive positioning: As the stablecoin market matures and faces increasing regulatory scrutiny, diversified reserves including hard assets may provide competitive advantages.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has been explicit about this strategy, emphasizing that the company views gold as superior to traditional financial instruments for long-term stability.¹² The company’s gold holdings are stored in secure vault facilities in Europe, though critics note that transparency regarding bar numbers, third-party audits, and public reserve certificates remains limited.¹³

The Broader Stablecoin Trend

Tether isn’t alone in recognizing the value of commodity backing. The company also operates Tether Gold (XAU₮), which grants users tokenized access to physical gold stored in Swiss vaults. Each XAU₮ token represents ownership of one troy ounce of physical gold on a London Good Delivery gold bar.

This hybrid model—combining the efficiency of blockchain technology with the stability of precious metals—represents a potential third way between pure fiat currencies and classical gold standards. It’s digital gold for the 21st century.

The implications are significant. If the world’s largest stablecoin is hedging its dollar exposure with gold and Bitcoin, what does that signal about institutional confidence in pure fiat backing? When even crypto companies are buying physical gold, the message to traditional investors should be clear.

The Coming Commodity Supercycle

Beyond just gold and silver, we may be entering a broader commodity supercycle driven by several converging forces:

1. Underinvestment in commodity production following the 2008-2015 bear market means supply constraints

2. Green energy transition requires massive amounts of copper, lithium, silver, and rare earth elements

3. Deglobalization and reshoring of manufacturing increases commodity intensity

4. Monetary debasement makes hard assets more attractive relative to paper claims

Commodities tend to perform well during inflationary periods precisely because they are real assets with tangible supply and demand dynamics. You cannot print copper. You cannot digitally create oil. Food doesn’t materialize from central bank balance sheets.

In an era where governments worldwide have discovered that Modern Monetary Theory means printing unlimited money to solve political problems, real assets become the rational hedge.

Risks and Realities

Let’s be honest about the risks:

Deflationary scenarios: If we experience a severe debt deflation (think 2008 on steroids), even gold can decline in dollar terms as cash becomes king. This is temporary and usually reversed by central bank response, but it’s a real risk.

Opportunity cost: Gold yielding 0% loses to stocks returning 10% in nominal terms. Over multi-decade periods, productive assets have outperformed commodity holdings.

Storage and security: Physical metals require storage, insurance, and security. This adds cost and complexity compared to digital assets.

Price volatility: Silver especially can experience 30-50% drawdowns during corrections. Position sizing must account for this volatility.

Confiscation risk: Executive Order 6102 in 1933 forced Americans to surrender gold. While unlikely today, government intervention in times of crisis is always possible.

The case for precious metals isn’t that they’re guaranteed to outperform. It’s that they provide insurance against monetary mismanagement and systemic instability—insurance that becomes more valuable as those risks increase.

Conclusion: Positioning for Monetary Regime Change

We are witnessing the slow-motion transformation of the post-1971 fiat currency experiment. This doesn’t mean imminent catastrophe or hyperinflation next Tuesday. It means a gradual return to monetary systems that incorporate hard asset backing, whether full gold standards or hybrid commodity-backed arrangements.

The evidence is overwhelming and converging from multiple independent sources:

Central banks are accumulating gold at the fastest pace in over 60 years, with purchases exceeding 1,000 tonnes annually for three consecutive years. These sophisticated institutions with perfect information about their own monetary policies are voting with their reserves.

Nation-states are actively reducing dollar dependence through bilateral trade agreements in local currencies. Russia and China now settle over 90% of their $243 billion in annual trade without touching dollars. The BRICS bloc, representing 37.9% of global GDP by 2028, is developing alternative payment systems specifically designed to bypass dollar dominance.

Digital currency issuers like Tether—operating at the cutting edge of financial technology—are backing their $120 billion stablecoin with $8.7 billion in physical gold. When even crypto-native institutions hedge their fiat exposure with precious metals, the signal is unmistakable.

Market dynamics across commodities, from underinvestment in production to green energy transition requirements, are creating structural supply constraints precisely when monetary debasement is accelerating demand for real assets.

For investors, this convergence creates both challenge and opportunity. The challenge is recognizing that the monetary regime of the past 50 years—unlimited fiat creation with no tangible backing—faces structural headwinds. The opportunity is positioning appropriately in the assets that have preserved wealth through every previous monetary transition in human history.

Gold and silver aren’t speculation in the traditional sense. They represent insurance against monetary instability—insurance that becomes more valuable as global financial architecture undergoes fundamental realignment. The question facing investors isn’t whether to own precious metals. The question is what percentage of your portfolio you’re willing to leave exposed to the assumption that the current fiat system will continue unchanged for another generation.

The monetary regime is changing. The only question is whether your portfolio is positioned for the shift.

Every major institution with access to perfect information—central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and now even stablecoin issuers—is accumulating hard assets. That should tell you everything you need to know about where smart money sees this heading.

Wondering whether gold and silver make sense for your specific situation? Treveri Capital specializes in helping high-net-worth investors position portfolios for long-term wealth preservation. Schedule a consultation to explore whether precious metals allocation aligns with your investment objectives.

Copyright © 2025 All rights reserved. This blog is copyright protected. No part may be reproduced, altered, or copied in any form without written consent. Information contained herein is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell securities, or personalized investment, tax or legal advice. The information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however no guarantee is made or implied with respect to its accuracy, timeliness, or completeness. Authors may own the stocks they discuss. The information and content are subject to change without notice. Treveri Capital LLC is a California registered investment advisor. CRPC®, Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor^SM are trademarks or registered service marks of the College for Financial Planning in the United States and/or other countries.

---

Footnotes

1. International Monetary Fund (2024). “Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves.” Chicago Policy Review. ↩

2. Responsible Statecraft (2024). “BRICS and de-dollarization, how far can it go?” Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov disclosed BRICS Bridge blockchain payment system development in March 2024. ↩

3. Diplomatist (2025). “The growing trend of De-dollarisation: Not restricted to BRICS member states.” Trade between Russia and China in 2024 exceeded $243 billion, with over 90% conducted in rubles and yuan, up from 90% in dollars in 2015. ↩

4. World Gold Council (2025). “Gold Demand Trends Full Year 2024 - Central Banks.” Central banks purchased 1,045 tonnes in 2024, the third consecutive year exceeding 1,000 tonnes. ↩

5. World Gold Council (2024). “Central Bank Gold Statistics: November 2024.” National Bank of Poland added 90 tonnes in 2024; Reserve Bank of India added 73 tonnes; Central Bank of Turkey added 75 tonnes. ↩

6. World Gold Council (2024). “Gold Demand Trends Q2 2024 - Central Banks.” Reserve Bank of India and Central Bank of Nigeria repatriated gold from overseas storage in 2024. ↩

7. FinanceFeeds (2024). “Tether Becomes Largest Independent Gold Holder with Massive $8.7B Stack.” Tether accumulated $8.7 billion worth of physical gold as of late 2024. ↩

8. FinancialContent Markets (2025). “Tether’s Golden Hoard: Stablecoin Giant’s Reserves Rival Central Banks After Q3 2025 Acquisition Spree.” Tether holds 116 tonnes of gold, rivaling reserves of Indonesia, South Korea, Hungary, and Greece. ↩

9. Tether.io (2025). “Tether Hits $13 Billion Profits for 2024.” U.S. Treasury holdings surpassed $113 billion as of Q4 2024. ↩

10. BeInCrypto (2024). “Tether Bolsters USDT Backing with 82,000 Bitcoin.” As of Q4 2024, Tether reported holding 82,454+ BTC and over 48 tonnes of gold. ↩

11. FinancialContent Markets (2025). “Tether’s Golden Hoard.” Gold constitutes approximately 7% of Tether’s total reserves, with 12 tonnes backing XAU₮ and 104 tonnes supporting USDT. ↩

12. The Blockchain (2024). “Tether CEO Has Defended USDT’s Stability Disclosing The Reserves Backing the Stablecoin.” CEO Paolo Ardoino disclosed reserve composition at PlanB event in Lugano, Switzerland. ↩

13. FinanceFeeds (2024). “Tether Becomes Largest Independent Gold Holder.” Transparency concerns remain regarding independent documentation, bar number auditing, and third-party on-site inspections. ↩