Brazil added 42.8 tons of gold to its reserves in late 2025, a 33% increase that makes gold its second-largest reserve asset. This move is part of a broader, deliberate shift by the BRICS bloc to diversify away from the U.S. dollar, whose share of Brazil’s reserves has slid from 80.42% in 2022 to 72% by December 2025 despite warnings from the Trump administration.
Brazil’s Central Bank purchased 42.8 tons of gold between September and November 2025. This boosted total holdings from 129.6 to 172.4 tons, a 33% increase that made gold the country’s second-largest reserve component.
The dollar’s share of Brazil’s international reserves dropped from 80.42% in 2022 to 72% by December 2025. This four-year slide reflects a deliberate rebalancing amid economic and geopolitical uncertainties, stated in the bank’s Annual Report on International Reserves.
Trump gave BRICS an ultimatum in late 2024 to abandon any plan for a dollar alternative or face 100% tariffs. Brazil did not halt its diversification, however, and has consistently reduced its dollar allocation every year since 2022.
Combined BRICS gold treasury holdings now exceed 6,000 tonnes, accounting for over 50% of all global gold purchases between 2020 and 2024. The bloc is developing a pilot digital currency settlement system backed 40% by gold and 60% by local currencies.
Globally, the dollar still represented 58% of officially declared reserves in 2024, according to a Federal Reserve study. No single rival currency has yet stepped in to fill a comparable role at scale.
