gold

Gold is valuable because of scarcity, durability, beauty, monetary history, central-bank demand, and its role as a trust asset.

The United States holds 8,133 tonnes of gold — more than double Germany in second place. The US has maintained the world's largest official gold reserve since the end of World War II, when Allied nations deposited their gold in American vaults for safekeeping. Together, the US and Europe hold over 60% of all reported sovereign gold reserves.

Gold's 2025 average price was $3,431.5 per troy ounce. Here is every layer of why, from neutron star mergers to central bank vaults to the electronics in your pocket.