Overview
- De Nederlandsche Bank reorganized about 86 tonnes of its gold reserves using sales, purchases and limited physical shipments to make part of the holding easier to trade and to strengthen crisis preparedness.
- The bank sold roughly 59 tonnes in New York and bought equivalent market-standard bars in London while physically moving more than 27 tonnes between North America and its Zeist cash centre.
- The operation did not change total reserves but shifted custody: the Bank of England now holds about 32.1%, Zeist about 30.8%, and New York and Ottawa about 18.5% each.
- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse responded that the episode shows how blockchain networks can settle cross-border economic value without relocating physical assets, though DNB says it used only established bullion markets and vault infrastructure.
- The move revives wider questions about reserve logistics and digital settlement as banks and payments firms expand crypto-linked services, which could reshape how central banks balance physical custody, market access and settlement speed.