The U.S. dollar’s share of global foreign-exchange reserves fell to 56.70% in the second quarter of 2026, while a central-bank survey showed expectations for higher gold holdings.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said total foreign-exchange reserves reached $13.22 trillion, with the dollar’s share down from 57.18% in Q1 2026. The IMF excludes monetary gold from its foreign-exchange reserve measure and counts it separately in the broader category of reserve assets.
The distinction matters when comparing dollar and gold reserve figures. In its 2026 survey of 76 central-bank respondents, the World Gold Council (WGC) found that 89% expected global official gold reserves to increase over the next 12 months. Separately, 74% expected the dollar’s share of global reserves to be moderately or significantly lower over five years. Those are expectations about reserve holdings, not commitments to replace the dollar.
The IMF says gold once played a central role in international monetary systems, when exchange rates were linked to gold prices.
At the NDTV World Summit on Thursday, Oct. 22, the official agenda listed a panel on global capital flows, trade and India’s digital leap. NDTV reported that Mashreq India Country Head and CEO Tushar Vikram described finding a value for an alternative to the dollar as difficult. He opposed gold-backed currencies because of high transaction costs but said gold could still supplement currencies.
NDTV also reported that Sachin Jain, World Gold Council Regional CEO for India, said tokenization could make gold easier to access and transfer. PhonePe’s Deep Agrawal and Ashish Singhal of CoinSwitch and Lemonn also appeared on the panel, according to the agenda.
India’s rupee trade-settlement rules offer an example of a complementary arrangement. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) says the system is intended to lessen reliance on hard currency and operates alongside settlement in freely convertible currencies. Exchange rates between the rupee and other currencies are market-determined under the rules.
