Question: Why doesn’t US buy Gold like other Central Banks?

Answer: Because they Can’t Let the Secret out that Gold is the Ultimate and Eternal Anti-Dollar

While central banks around the world have been snapping up gold in recent years, the United States stands curiously apart. The official line is that the US simply doesn’t need to buy more gold. After all, it already holds the world’s largest official gold reserves—over 8,000 metric tonnes, locked away in places like Fort Knox. But is that the whole story, or is there more beneath the surface?

One explanation you’ll hear is that the US dollar is the world’s reserve currency, so the US doesn’t face the same pressures as countries like China or Russia to diversify away from the dollar or hedge against dollar risk. But that raises a question: if the dollar is so unassailable, why are so many other countries scrambling to buy gold as a hedge against dollar volatility and geopolitical risk? Are they seeing vulnerabilities that the US is downplaying—or simply won’t admit?

Another point: the gold in US vaults is technically owned by the US Treasury, not the Federal Reserve. The Fed hasn’t actively bought gold since the 1930s. Instead, the US government treats its gold as a “legacy asset,” a relic from the days of the gold standard. But why cling to this distinction? If gold is such a non-factor, why not sell it off or put it to more productive use? And if it’s so important to keep, why not add to the stockpile, as so many other central banks are doing?

Look at the motives elsewhere. Central banks in China, Russia, and Turkey are buying gold to diversify away from the dollar, guard against sanctions, and protect themselves from foreign asset seizures. The US, by contrast, claims it doesn’t need to “de-dollarize”—it issues the very currency others are trying to hedge against. But could there be a risk in this complacency? What would happen if global confidence in the dollar started to slip? Would the US regret not having built up its gold reserves even further?

There’s also the argument that if the US started buying gold, it could send the wrong signal—undermining confidence in the dollar and sparking panic in financial markets. But isn’t that, in itself, an admission that gold still plays a crucial role in the global financial system? If gold is just a dusty relic, why would its purchase or sale have any impact at all?

In the end, the official answers sound logical, but they leave plenty of unanswered questions. Why does the US treat its gold reserves as untouchable, while so many other nations see gold as a vital strategic asset? Is it confidence, complacency, or something else entirely? And as the world’s financial landscape shifts, will the US position on gold remain as secure as it seems—or will these questions come back to haunt policymakers in Washington?

While central banks from Poland to China stockpile gold at record rates — adding 1,045 tons in 2024 alone — America’s vaults remain conspicuously stagnant.

The Federal Reserve, tasked with monetary stability, doesn’t own a single ounce of gold. Instead, the U.S. Treasury clings to 8,133 metric tons valued at a laughable $42.22/oz — a relic of Nixon-era accounting.

This isn’t just a spreadsheet quirk. It’s a glaring red flag in an era of de-dollarization, exposing a system built on exorbitant privilege, military might, and a pathological aversion to gold’s resurgence.

The Dollar’s “Exorbitant Privilege” — and Its Expiration Date

The U.S. has long treated the dollar’s reserve status as a divine right, leveraging it to print trillions with minimal consequences. Why hoard gold when you can export inflation? But the free ride is ending. BRICS nations, spooked by Trump’s tariff tantrums and weaponized SWIFT sanctions, now dump dollars for gold at a record pace. Meanwhile, the Treasury’s gold sits frozen at Depression-era prices, creating a $700 billion “phantom asset” that could theoretically be monetized overnight — if Congress dared. They won’t. Admitting gold’s true value would torpedo the myth of dollar invincibility.

The Fed-Treasury Shell Game: “We Don’t Need Gold (But Let’s Keep It Anyway)”

Here’s the open secret: The Fed could buy gold. Post-1974 reforms erased legal barriers. Yet it refuses, clinging to a $7 trillion bond portfolio that bled $1 trillion in value during recent rate hikes. Why? Gold ownership would force transparency. Unlike Treasuries — where the Fed and Treasury play “hot potato” with debt — gold’s market price is uncontrollable. A rising gold price would signal dollar weakness, something the “strong dollar” cult in Washington can’t abide.

“Don’t Look at the Man Behind the Green Curtain!”

The U.S. gold reserve isn’t a financial asset — it’s a geopolitical insurance policy. Stashed in Fort Knox and Fed vaults, it exists to backstop what truly props up the dollar: the U.S. military. As Mises Institute scholars note, gold reserves let regimes “wage war even when the taxpaying population is vehemently against it”. Printing dollars funds forever wars; gold ensures the war machine hums even if the world abandons the dollar. No wonder the Treasury keeps its bullion buried under 1970s bookkeeping.

Gold Is the Anti-Dollar — and Washington Hates Competition

Central banks aren’t buying gold for shiny trinkets. They’re hedging against a dollar crisis they see as inevitable. The Fed’s response? Double down on exorbitant privilege. When Trump floated revaluing gold to fund infrastructure in 2025, economists recoiled, fearing it would “undercollateralize America’s balance sheet”. Translation: A gold-backed dollar would expose how much unbacked cash we’ve printed. Better to keep gold in the shadows while the Fed’s printing presses work overtime.

The $3,200/Ounce Question

As gold hits $3,200 amid Trump’s trade wars, America faces a reckoning: Clinging to dollar supremacy requires increasingly desperate measures — sanctioning rivals, strong-arming allies, and pretending 8,133 tons of gold are worthless. But the world isn’t buying it (literally). The Fed’s balance sheet is a time bomb, the Treasury’s gold is a farce, and the military can’t drone-strike Bitcoin into submission.

Washington’s gold denial isn’t just hypocrisy — it’s a sign of systemic rot. When your only tool is a printing press, every problem looks like a currency to debase.

Secretary Scott Bessent's recent claims about the status of gold at Fort Knox.

Bessent asserted that the gold is securely stored there and that an annual audit confirms its presence, referencing a report dated September 30, 2024. However, Doug Casey’s intern Lau Vegys, debunks this claim, clarifying that the report cited is merely an accounting schedule, not a physical audit of the gold itself.

Below is an Except from
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www.crisisinvesting.com/p/sorry-mr-secretarythats-not-an-audit

What an Actual Audit Would Look Like

Let’s say, just for fun, we wanted to actually audit the gold at Fort Knox.

Here’s what we’d be up against:

• There are 368,250 gold bars reportedly stored at Fort Knox.

• Each bar weighs about 27.4 pounds.

• The gold is housed in 13 small compartments, each roughly 6 feet wide, 12 feet deep, and 8 feet high.

In other words, there’s no room for forklifts or large teams—the space was intentionally designed to be cramped for security reasons.

So any real audit would require a small team—let’s say 20 people—working in tight quarters to verify every single bar. That’s 18,412 gold bars per person. And each bar would need to be counted, weighed, and visually inspected.

Experts estimate it would take at least 18 months to complete. Possibly longer if any discrepancies are found (which would require re-checking, paperwork, and verification).

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There is great reason why there has been longstanding skepticism surrounding Fort Knox’s gold reserves, fueled by the absence of a comprehensive, physical audit since 1953.

Past inspections were limited, often only verifying a small percentage of the gold or relying on visual confirmation rather than weighing or serial number verification. The last significant audit in 1974 involved a visual display of gold bars without actual weighing or testing, and subsequent audits have been sporadic and incomplete.

The recent "audit" referenced by Bessent is merely a review of financial records—an inventory check of the Treasury’s books—rather than a physical inspection of the gold bars. The official book value of gold has remained unchanged since 1973 at $42.22 per ounce, which is outdated and does not reflect the current market value, further casting doubt on the transparency of the gold reserves.

There is a monstrous logistical challenges conducting a true physical audit at Fort Knox, (which reportedly houses over 368,000 gold bars in confined spaces, making a thorough inspection time-consuming and complex. )

Past efforts, including a 1981 partial audit, only verified a fraction of the gold, and no comprehensive physical audit has occurred in decades.

The lack of rigorous, transparent audits fuels public suspicion about whether the gold still exists and if it truly belongs to the U.S. government. As activist gold and silver investors we must call “bullshit” on the Treasury for misrepresenting the nature of their review and call for an honest, thorough audit to restore confidence.

So when you hear empty words from people like Trump and Elon Musk asking for audits of US gold, remember that their bosses are the Fiat overlords (Federal Reserve) and the Napoleon Bonaparte quote “The hand that gives is above the hand that takes”