TFTC on Nostr: Goldman Sachs estimates China bought 123 tonnes of gold through London's OTC market ...
Goldman Sachs estimates China bought 123 tonnes of gold through London's OTC market in just May, June, and July, while officially reporting only 45 tonnes to the IMF over the same period.
For the first 8 months of 2026, China's central bank claims it added 80 tonnes. Goldman's OTC data suggests the real number is at least double that.
This isn't new. It's a pattern. China has been routing massive purchases through London's OTC market specifically to avoid the price impact and geopolitical signaling that large disclosed sovereign buys would trigger.
BMO Capital now estimates China's true gold holdings are around 5,200 tonnes, more than double the official 2,387 tonnes. If accurate, they're closing in on the US's 8,133 tonnes far faster than anyone in Washington is acknowledging.
And they're building the infrastructure to match. Beijing opened the Shanghai Gold Exchange's first offshore vault in Hong Kong last year, launched yuan-denominated gold contracts, and is expanding Hong Kong's storage capacity to 2,000+ tonnes. A gold clearing and settlement system went into trial operations in July.
They're not just buying gold. They're building a parallel financial system with gold at its center, vaults, clearing rails, BRICS settlement infrastructure, all designed to reduce dependence on the dollar.
Nation states don't accumulate hard assets at this pace and build out physical settlement infrastructure unless they're planning for a world that looks very different from the one we're in today.
Published at
2026-09-17 13:42:44 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "Goldman Sachs estimates China bought 123 tonnes of gold through London's OTC market in just May, June, and July, while officially reporting only 45 tonnes to the IMF over the same period.\n\nFor the first 8 months of 2026, China's central bank claims it added 80 tonnes. Goldman's OTC data suggests the real number is at least double that.\n\nThis isn't new. It's a pattern. China has been routing massive purchases through London's OTC market specifically to avoid the price impact and geopolitical signaling that large disclosed sovereign buys would trigger.\n\nBMO Capital now estimates China's true gold holdings are around 5,200 tonnes, more than double the official 2,387 tonnes. If accurate, they're closing in on the US's 8,133 tonnes far faster than anyone in Washington is acknowledging.\n\nAnd they're building the infrastructure to match. Beijing opened the Shanghai Gold Exchange's first offshore vault in Hong Kong last year, launched yuan-denominated gold contracts, and is expanding Hong Kong's storage capacity to 2,000+ tonnes. A gold clearing and settlement system went into trial operations in July.\n\nThey're not just buying gold. They're building a parallel financial system with gold at its center, vaults, clearing rails, BRICS settlement infrastructure, all designed to reduce dependence on the dollar.\n\nNation states don't accumulate hard assets at this pace and build out physical settlement infrastructure unless they're planning for a world that looks very different from the one we're in today.\nhttps://blossom.primal.net/1605a9b79843dfe96720f97e1c64dcfa7cb745d98d87e9e3090a3bee38285526.jpg",
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