Russia is doing the opposite of many other central banks by selling gold, yet this behavior actually reinforces the fundamental role gold plays within the global financial system because it demonstrates that gold is the ultimate asset of last resort when access to traditional financial channels is restricted.

Since 2025, the Central Bank of Russia has been liquidating portions of its gold reserves to finance ongoing war expenditures, raising approximately $2.4 billion and reducing its holdings to a multi-year low, while simultaneously remaining largely cut off from Western capital markets due to sanctions.

This is evidence of its importance because when a country is excluded from global financial systems and cannot easily issue debt or access foreign reserves, it turns to gold as a source of liquidity.

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/central-banks/russia-selling-gold-to-fund-war-proves-gold-is-the-asset-of-last-resort/