U.S. gold holdings carried an $11.041 billion statutory value on Oct. 16, far below a separate $1.000312 trillion market estimate from 2025, underscoring how legal pricing rules shape the reserve’s reported worth.
The reserve table listed 261,498,927 fine troy ounces — 261.499 million when rounded — at $42.2222 per fine troy ounce. For outstanding gold certificates, federal law uses a valuation of $42 and two-ninths per fine troy ounce; their total value cannot exceed that of the gold held against them.
For Sept. 30, 2025, a separate calculation used $3,825.30 per fine troy ounce under the London Gold Fixing, producing a reserve estimate of $1.000312 trillion. That amount is tied to the 2025 valuation date, while the Oct. 16 figure uses the legal certificate rate.
Lawmakers introduced the BITCOIN Act of 2025 (S. 954) on March 11, 2025. The proposal would replace existing gold certificates with new ones reflecting fair market value, then use the proceeds to finance purchases of up to one million Bitcoin (BTC). Any surplus would be directed toward reducing public debt.
Federal Reserve economist Colin Weiss wrote in an Aug. 1, 2025, note that revaluation proceeds can improve fiscal conditions “at the margin,” but “may not address larger structural challenges.”
