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The People’s Bank of China can’t stop buying gold. After a six-month breather that ended in November 2024, the PBOC has been accumulating gold for roughly 19 to 20 consecutive months. It’s the longest continuous buying streak since China started reporting this data in 1999.
By mid-2026, the PBOC had purchased over 40 tons of gold for the year alone. In June, the central bank added 15 tons in a single month, the largest monthly haul since late 2023.
The bigger picture behind Beijing’s bullion binge
Central banks globally went on a shopping spree in early 2026, with net purchases hitting 244 tonnes in Q1 alone. The motivation is straightforward: diversify away from the US dollar. Geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, and the weaponization of dollar-denominated financial infrastructure have made reserve managers nervous. Gold doesn’t carry counterparty risk.
Before the current streak, the PBOC had already completed an aggressive 18-month buying run that ended around April or May 2024. The pause that followed lasted roughly six months before purchases resumed in November 2024. In 2025, the PBOC added approximately 26 tons to its reserves. The 2026 pace has been notably faster.
What this means for gold prices and crypto
Central bank buying has been one of the key structural supports for gold prices over the past two years, and China has been the single largest contributor to that trend. It’s one thing when hedge funds buy gold on a macro thesis. It’s another when a central bank with over $3 trillion in reserves decides it needs more.
Gold-backed cryptocurrencies like PAX Gold and Tether Gold occupy an interesting middle ground. These tokens let retail investors gain gold exposure without dealing with vaults or insurance. As sovereign demand pushes physical gold prices higher, trading volumes for these tokenized alternatives could benefit from spillover interest.
The de-dollarization trade and what investors should watch
Every ton of gold Beijing adds to its reserves is a ton’s worth of confidence removed from the dollar-based financial system. The greenback still dominates global trade and reserve holdings by a wide margin, but when the PBOC buys gold for 20 straight months, it’s not a trade. It’s a policy.
Watch the pace of PBOC purchases in the second half of 2026. If the buying accelerates beyond the 40-plus tons already accumulated, it could signal that Beijing sees escalating risks in the global financial system.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
English (US) · 