Banyan Gold Corp. (TSXV: BYN, OTCQB: BYAGF)
The New Yukon Gold Rush
Last Friday, the spot price of gold surpassed $2,500 per ounce, reaching a historic high. Typically weighing around 400 ounces (approximately 11 kilograms), a gold bar’s value for the first time exceeded $1 million at this price level. On Monday, gold prices hit a new record, reaching an intraday high of $2,549.90 per ounce.
So far this year, gold prices have risen by more than 20%.
One of the factors driving the rise in gold prices is the active purchase of gold by central banks. According to Metals Focus, global central banks net purchased 483.3 tons of gold in the first half of this year, equivalent to nearly 40,000 gold bars. Additionally, a survey of 70 global central banks revealed that 29% plan to increase their gold reserves in the next 12 months.
At the same time, the BRICS countries have made significant progress in their efforts to reduce reliance on the US dollar. Russian media reports indicate that BRICS Pay, a digital payment platform jointly developed by China, Russia, India, South Africa, and Brazil, may be launched in October as an alternative to the international SWIFT system. Russia’s central bank governor, Elvira Nabiullina, stated that 159 countries are ready to use the BRICS payment system once it is operational.
In recent years, the BRICS alliance has been actively promoting de-dollarization, making the creation of a payment system a top priority.
Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council of Russia, recently announced that BRICS countries are discussing the establishment of an independent financial payment platform, BRICS Bridge. Matviyenko remarked, “I have communicated with the central bank and the finance ministry. Things are progressing well, with all BRICS countries, including new members, engaging in discussions.”
She added that if this digital payment system is successfully implemented, it would have a significant global impact.
Since 2022, the acceleration of the de-dollarization process has had profound effects on the gold market. Historically, there has been an inverse relationship between the global share of official US dollar reserves and gold prices. As the de-dollarization process advances, the monetary attribute of gold becomes more prominent, helping to sustain strong gold prices.
