With a bold economic message and a potential challenge to the global financial system under U.S. control, three BRICS countries, Brazil, Russia and China, collectively purchased nearly 20 metric tons of gold in September 2025, investing the impressive amount of 2.54 billion dollars.
This wave of purchases, despite high gold prices, confirms the bloc’s commitment to reduce dependence on the dollar and to increase holdings in assets of real value.
The purchases were carried out during a period of record high gold prices, with the XAU/USD index approaching 3,900 dollars in September and surpassing 4,000 dollars in October, reaching a historic high of 4,381 dollars per ounce.
Today, gold remains within a price range of around 4,010 dollars, but central banks show no signs of slowing demand.
According to data reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Brazil led the three by adding 15 tons, a move that was its first since 2021.
Russia and China followed with 3 tons and 2 tons respectively.
Notably, India had also increased its gold reserves in the second half of 2025, continuing its multi year tactic of diversification away from dollar assets.
Financing is changing – The era of “hard money” is coming
The recent increase in gold reserves by the BRICS member states does not concern only asset protection but forms part of a broader geopolitical and financial shift.
Significant voices in the global financial sphere, such as Canadian leading mining investor Frank Giustra, herald a new financial era of “hard money”, driven by the growing insignificance of “paper gold” assets, such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and futures contracts.
Speaking at the Precious Metals Summit in Beaver Creek, Colorado, Giustra stated: “Now, believe it or not, we are in the era of hard money.
If you own paper gold, you do not own real gold.
When the crisis comes, it will not be there.”
Parallel financial infrastructure
He argued that BRICS countries are shaping a parallel financial infrastructure that could bypass traditional Western systems, including those based on the dollar as the global reserve currency.
Much of this transformation is evident in China’s initiatives at the Shanghai Gold Exchange, where a convertible yuan–gold exchange rate is being applied and physical custody of quantities of the precious metal is taking place.
At the same time, the mBridge project, a pilot central bank digital currency (CBDC) program launched by China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and recently Saudi Arabia, aims at dollar free transactions, strengthening the trend of de-dollarization.
The BRICS and the global gold market
Collectively, the BRICS countries, including new members beyond the five founding ones, hold 6,026 tons of gold, yet they remain behind the United States (8,133 tons), Germany (3,352 tons) and Italy (2,452 tons).
Individually, Russia holds the largest reserves within the BRICS group with 2,336 tons, followed by China with 2,298 tons and India with 880 tons.
Brazil’s recent purchase raises its total reserves to 145.1 tons.
Although BRICS gold reserves lag behind the world’s leading holders, their purchasing behavior has altered the dynamics of the modern gold market.
According to the World Gold Council, central banks purchased more than 1,000 tons of gold annually from 2022 to 2024, recording the longest continuous buying period in modern times.
Central bank demand remained strong in 2025, with 244 tons added in the first quarter alone.
The 2025 central bank gold reserves survey by the World Gold Council shows that 73% of global central bankers believe that the share of the dollar in global reserves will decline over the next five years.
In addition, 43% of surveyed central bank officials intend to increase gold reserves, demonstrating the shift in global monetary attitudes.
Geopolitical turbulence and gold: A new relationship
Many factors contribute to the intensifying trend of gold acquisition: persistent geopolitical tensions, rising public debt in advanced economies, and growing doubt about fiat currencies.
Giustra’s comments highlight concern that traditional currencies, particularly the dollar, may be approaching a critical point.
“With rising debt and monetary easing measures such as quantitative easing or yield curve control, fiat currencies are generally in their final stages,” Giustra warned.
He emphasized the possibility of a global monetary reset, in which gold and other hard assets could play a central role in maintaining states’ financial stability.
This stance is reflected in emerging markets, which view gold as a neutral and reliable means of protection against political risks from the West and the instability of the dollar.
Brazil’s recent return to gold purchases after a pause since 2021 reinforces the view that the accumulation of physical gold is now more than a safe haven, it is a statement of economic autonomy.
Can the BRICS challenge U.S. hegemony?
There has been speculation that the BRICS could in the future support a new multinational currency backed by gold, but there has been no official presentation of such a plan.
Analysts estimate that even if the bloc introduced a gold backed currency, it would face significant obstacles against the dominance of the dollar.
Despite these structural challenges, the BRICS strategy is clear: accumulation of “hard” assets, creation of alternative financial institutions and payment systems, and tilting the balance of monetary power more evenly.
Whether through pilot digital currency programs such as mBridge, or through continuous gold purchases, the states of the BRICS group are advancing a plan to shape a multipolar financial world.
In this scenario, gold, real physical gold, reemerges as a cornerstone of monetary strategy rather than a relic of the past.
As 2025 approaches its end, the signals are unmistakable: central banks are shielding themselves from uncertainty, and gold remains a cornerstone in this effort.
Despite the preservation of U.S. supremacy in reserves for the time being, trends suggest that the future of credit will be diversified, decentralized and increasingly “golden”.
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