Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse argued on September 4 that a months-long gold repositioning by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch central bank, exposed limitations of traditional financial infrastructure. He contrasted the process with cryptocurrency's capacity to transfer value across borders.
The Dutch central bank spent approximately five months moving roughly $11 billion in gold reserves from New York and Ottawa to London. The operation, which ran between March and August, shifted approximately 86 metric tons of gold to improve access to the metal during potential crises.
How the Gold Transfer Worked
Nearly 70 percent of the gold involved did not travel between New York and London. DNB sold approximately 59 metric tons held in New York and purchased an equivalent amount in London, where gold meeting international market standards is considered easier to trade. More than 27 metric tons were physically transported from the United States and Canada to DNB's facility in Zeist in the Netherlands.
After the operation, London's share of the Netherlands' gold reserves increased from 18.1 percent to 32.1 percent. New York's portion declined from 31.3 percent to 18.5 percent, while Ottawa's fell from 19.7 percent to 18.5 percent. DNB retained 30.8 percent in Zeist.
Garlinghouse's Crypto Comparison
Garlinghouse highlighted the extended timeline of the physical operation, noting on social media that cryptocurrency had evolved from a $1.5 billion experiment in 2013 to a $2.7 trillion asset class with financial infrastructure and market liquidity, while central banks continued to move value using methods from the 1940s.
The Ripple executive presented cryptocurrency as an alternative for storing and transmitting value without shipping physical assets. He argued that blockchain systems could transfer tokenized representations of value faster and at lower cost than physical custody networks and market transactions.
Central Banks and Gold Reserves
DNB described gold as an "anchor of trust" against extreme systemic risks. The operation reflected gold's continued role in official reserves. Central banks added a net 41 metric tons in May and extended an accumulation trend in which 45 percent of surveyed reserve managers expected their institutions to buy more during the following 12 months.
Germany undertook a larger physical operation after adopting a new storage plan in 2013. The Deutsche Bundesbank transferred 674 tons from Paris and New York to Frankfurt over four years, completing the program in 2017.
