El Salvador buys $50M of gold for reserve diversification

[Ben Graham]

El Salvador has acquired nearly $50 million worth of gold as part of the nation’s broader move to diversify its international reserves and solidify financial stability amid heavy exposure to Bitcoin.

In a social media post, El Salvador’s central bank confirmed that it has bought 13,999 ounces of gold, bringing its total gold holdings to 58,105 ounces, now valued at approximately $207 million.

The gold purchase—the nation’s first since 1990—comes in a week during which gold set multiple all-time highs, with prices currently sitting close to $3,600 an ounce. Year to date, bullion has risen by over 36% amid strong buying interest by central banks.

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Diversification into gold

El Salvador’s move signals a cautious recalibration of its reserve strategy. For years, the country—under President Nayib Bukele—has embraced Bitcoin, becoming the first nation to adopt it as legal tender in 2021.

To analysts, its latest gold purchase is seen as a way to reassure international partners and stabilize its balance sheet amid Bitcoin’s notorious volatility.

According to central bank data, El Salvador’s net international reserves stood at $4.7 billion as of July 2025, compared with about $3 billion in the same month of 2024. About $700 million of the reserves are in Bitcoin.

El Salvador’s return to bullion also mirrors a broader central bank trend toward gold accumulation. Over the past two years, global central banks have accumulated gold at a record pace, purchasing more than 1,000 tonnes each year, and are on pace to come close to that mark again in 2025, according to the World Gold Council.

Gold now accounts for nearly 20% of global central bank reserves, second only to dollar-denominated assets, WGC data also shows.

Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs presented a case where central banks and institutions would continue to allocate funds into gold and away from dollar assets under the current political environment in the US. Under such a scenario, gold prices could continue to skyrocket, and may realistically reach $5,000 an ounce, Goldman’s analysts wrote in a note.