A “de-dollarization” narrative has dominated financial media headlines over the last few years. Talk of the BRICs nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) launching an alternative currency for international trade settlement and storage of purchasing power has been circling for decades. Much of modern American life from the last few generations has been built on a financialization of the world economy. Essentially, the US is the “Saudi Arabia of money,” meaning we make the money and give it to the rest of the world in exchange for goods and services just like they do with oil. What would Saudi Arabia do if oil were replaced by another basic fuel? You get the point. A shift away from the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency would reshape the global economy in ways that are nearly impossible to quantify.
Although a new international BRICS currency clearly isn’t materializing, the BRICS group is expanding—now with ten full members, representing roughly half the world’s population and a collective annual GDP larger than the G7. Structurally, the member nations can’t agree on much past their dislike of the US dollar’s dominance. Considering that limited scope, gold has emerged as a de-facto alternative. Gold is already global, already liquid, and requires no unified central bank to manage it.
Over the last year, global central banks (led by China, India and Russia) have accumulated gold at such an aggressive pace that the aggregate value of gold on central banks’ balance sheets usurped both the Euro and the $ to become the #1 asset. Gold hasn’t held that top spot in decades. At the same time, demand for US Treasuries from international buyers has weakened as these countries redirect their reserves towards gold. This is a meaningful shift.
China has been particularly active in building gold-market infrastructure. The Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) opened a portion of its platform to foreign participants in 2014, and in June 2025 the Hong Kong depository launched. China is now establishing SGE depositories with trading partners all around the globe including in Zurich, Singapore and Dubai. The strategy is clear: enable international trade to be conducted in Yuan outside the SWIFT system and allow partners to convert their Yuan into physical gold stored in friendly jurisdictions. This matters because trust in Western custody is deteriorating—partly due to instances like the Bank of England freezing $2B of Venezuela’s gold in 2019. It is a growing concern where individual country’s physical gold is being stored. As of now, commercial gold-storage infrastructure in regions like South America is minimal, and yet Brazil’s central bank just increased its official gold holdings by more than 10%. It’s a reasonable guess that the SGE will be considering development there among other locations.
This is an oversimplified snapshot of global “de-dollarization” that, by default, has led to new developments in gold purchases and usage/infrastructure. But at the same time, a powerful counter-force is emerging: “dollarization” through digital dollars.
The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, created guardrails around the rapidly expanding stablecoin market. Stablecoins—like Tether, the largest—are digital tokens locked in value to $1 and now must be backed by legitimate, verifiable assets on a 1-to-1 basis. Effectively, people are able to store and transact U.S. dollars on the blockchain without needing a bank account. No SWIFT codes, no wire charges, no multi-days for settlement windows. And importantly, some are open ledgers, similar to Bitcoin. This means there is no central authority of Tether and other Stablecoins that can randomly freeze or limit a user’s coins for non-compliance or any other reason.
By contrast, CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) are centralized, fully monitored, and can be restricted or cancelled by authorities.
For many developing countries, that difference is enormous.
Stablecoin usage is accelerating at about $10 Billion per month with a total market cap around $300 Billion. Across South America (and parts of Africa), stablecoins backed by U.S. dollars are becoming popular alternatives to unstable local currencies. With the GENIUS Act giving implicit U.S. approval, this expansion has unexpectedly strengthened the U.S. dollar. An ongoing and increasing demand for US Treasuries from Stablecoin purchases is at least a part of the surprising resilience of the US Dollar considering the progress of the would-be de-dollarizers led by China.
Look at the U.S. Dollar Index over the last six months:
The index is heavily weighted towards the euro, so it isn’t a perfect measure of the dollar’s strength. But the chart certainly does not depict a currency imminently falling apart relative to its peers. Stablecoin expansion is contributing to the dollar’s resilience, and we may be heading into a world where both the dollar and gold rise together relative to the euro, yen, pound, and others.
The “De-Dollarization” and “Dollarization” discussed above is a tug of war that has no predictable medium-term outcome. And while the $10 billion per month or so flowing into stablecoins won’t fix the U.S. fiscal challenge of issuing $550 billion per week in new T-bills, it does create a meaningful new demand channel.
Layered onto all of this is the rise of digitized gold. Central banks—especially China’s—have signaled that gold remains the ultimate store of value. The Chinese seem content to allow their currency to remain linked to the dollar and devalue with the dollar vs gold – but that is for the transactional side. Now the standard of wealth – gold – is backing Stablecoins on the Blockchain. There are many such coins where an investor can purchase gold backed tokens and trade them on crypto exchanges. Although this strategy adds liquidity to an investor’s gold, there are fees involved and counter-party risk. However, now there is an emerging gold-backed Blockchain product that pays interest denominated in ounces of gold.
This is potentially transformative. While the GENIUS Act prohibits dollar-backed Stablecoins from paying interest to the coin holders, nothing stops gold-backed tokens from doing so. Gold has always been a store of value; if it becomes an income-producing asset usable in everyday transactions, it could evolve into something far more dynamic in the global monetary system.
This article is consolidating many nuanced market conditions, but from an overhead view it is describing a basic landscape. The world’s monetary system is changing rapidly, and these articles will continue in attempt to keep up. Topics on deck include:
- Eleven countries have rolled out their own CENTRAL BANK centralized Stablecoins (CBDCs) and more are on the way. Intuitively, this could undermine the SWIFT system, but SWIFT is responding with their own CBDC. These aren’t market tested yet so stay tuned, but a crucial point is that NONE of these are beyond central compliance/regulation and almost all of them are on a centrally controlled ledger (unlike Bitcoin and Tether.)
- Trump Administration promises that no Federal Reserve centralized coin will be issued – but many of the banks including Chase have built their own centrally controlled currency. Chase is paying interest on the Stablecoin (JPMD) – and it instantly settles outside of SWIFT and is available to transact through the visa system. Early adoption is not impressive – but stay tuned…
- US dollar-backed Stablecoins (not-centralized) are expanding outside the banking system which will likely be more attractive to the international market than a central bank designed coin. But governments will want some control/regulation/taxation eventually.
- There may be some countries that declare the US dollar their official currency. Ecuador did it in 2000 and some speculate Argentina will do it if they can clear their debt with the IMF. This would expand the US dollar reach and may prompt other countries to do the same.
- The Trump Administration hints at backing long-dated US Treasury bonds with gold. We aren’t sure if that will happen or not, but to happen it would require a drastic revaluation of gold vs the US dollar.
- Bitcoin is selling off as attention shifts toward Stablecoins and CBDCs..
Things are moving quickly. No one can say how this monetary realignment will ultimately unfold. One undeniable strategy in this ongoing saga is gold – and achieving a gold interest rate on gold! If you would like to hear how we are positioning ourselves in this dynamic marketplace reach out to us for more information.
Regards and good investing,
Greyson Geiler
Market and industry data used in this presentation have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, we have not independently verified such data and make no representation or warranty as to its accuracy or completeness.
Goldrush Yield Fund, LLC is managed by Andorra Capital, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor. Andorra Capital has a conflict of interest in recommending the Fund to prospective investors. This material is informational only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. The Goldrush Yield Fund is an unregistered private placement and is available solely to accredited investors. No securities commission or regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the Fund, and there is no obligation to provide investment advice. Investing in the Fund involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Any forward-looking statements are based on current assumptions and are subject to change. Investors are responsible for conducting their own due diligence. Please review the Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) for detailed risk factors and consult with legal, tax, and investment professionals before considering any investment. For more information, please contact Greyson Geiler at ggeiler@andocap.com