Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Gold has been the single largest US export by value in three of the last four months — a pattern that has not appeared in at least two decades of data. Trey Reik's numbers: non-monetary gold exports went from $34 billion in 2024 to $83 billion in 2025, and are annualising near $150 billion this year. Which means gold settled 3.7% of the US trade deficit in 2024, 9.3% in 2025, and roughly 20% so far in 2026.
His read is that America's trading partners are increasingly choosing to be paid in gold.
📄 GET TREY'S FULL REPORT — FREE
Trey publishes a monthly market report for GoldSilver. The latest edition, "Nothing Has Changed," goes considerably deeper than we could in 23 minutes. Free to download here:
goldsilver.com/insiderplus#monthlyinsight
Insider+ members will also get monthly live Q&A sessions with Trey, starting soon.
Megan King Diaz sits down with Trey Reik, Chief Economist at GBI, on what gold's re-monetization actually looks like in practice — not buying a hot dog with bullion, but sovereigns treating gold as a reserve and a settlement asset. Forty years inside the markets, and he argues the tipping point has already happened.
In this conversation:
What re-monetization actually means, and why it isn't about everyday spending
The big three fundamentals: anti-dollar sentiment, the US deficit, and eroding Fed credibility
Why March 2022 and the freezing of Russian reserves was the seminal tipping point
What China has done since: Treasury holdings down 35%, gold holdings up 20% by ounce
Why media reports that central bank sales prove gold is failing are 180 degrees wrong
Which four central banks sold gold during the Iranian conflict, and why each one did
How gold went from America's 18th largest export to its largest
Why total US debt passing $40 trillion brings the "doom loop" into view
Why 51% of the S&P now trades above 10 times sales, against maybe 10 or 20 companies at the dot-com peak
Why a gold mine with a 10 to 15 year life has a bigger moat than most S&P companies
Nvidia's $750 billion in deals, and what circular financing means for the AI build-out
Why both of the most likely AI outcomes are supportive of gold
What Scott Bessent doubling Treasury bond buybacks signals — from someone who worked for him at Soros
The $85 billion US-Japan yen intervention, and the euros sold to fund it
Buy Precious Metals at: goldsilver.com
Learn about Gold & Silver: goldsilver.com/learn
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/c/goldsilver?sub_confirmation=1
Get Essential Gold & Silver News—Delivered Twice a Week: goldsilver.com/join-our-newsletter
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/GoldSilver_com
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/GoldSilverDotCom
As always, thank you for your support.
The GoldSilver Team
0:00 Introduction
0:40 What Re-Monetization Actually Means
1:40 Why This Time Is Different
2:20 March 2022: The Tipping Point
3:20 Did Central Bank Sales Prove Gold Failed?
6:20 Gold Is Now America's Biggest Export
8:40 China, Hong Kong And Settlement
9:20 The Big Three, And $40 Trillion
10:20 The Doom Loop
11:40 51% Of The S&P Above 10x Sales
13:40 Why Gold Miners Have Bigger Moats
14:40 The AI Build-Out And The Debt Behind It
16:40 Both AI Outcomes Are Gold-Supportive
19:00 AI In Gold Mining
20:00 Bessent, And Signs Of Panic
21:00 The $85 Billion Yen Intervention
21:55 Gold's New Range
Gold has been the single largest US export by value in three of the last four months — a pattern that has not appeared in at least two decades of data. Trey Reik's numbers: non-monetary gold exports went from $34 billion in 2024 to $83 billion in 2025, and are annualising near $150 billion this year. Which means gold settled 3.7% of the US trade deficit in 2024, 9.3% in 2025, and roughly 20% so far in 2026.
His read is that America's trading partners are increasingly choosing to be paid in gold.
📄 GET TREY'S FULL REPORT — FREE
Trey publishes a monthly market report for GoldSilver. The latest edition, "Nothing Has Changed," goes considerably deeper than we could in 23 minutes. Free to download here:
goldsilver.com/insiderplus#monthlyinsight
Insider+ members will also get monthly live Q&A sessions with Trey, starting soon.
Megan King Diaz sits down with Trey Reik, Chief Economist at GBI, on what gold's re-monetization actually looks like in practice — not buying a hot dog with bullion, but sovereigns treating gold as a reserve and a settlement asset. Forty years inside the markets, and he argues the tipping point has already happened.
In this conversation:
What re-monetization actually means, and why it isn't about everyday spending
The big three fundamentals: anti-dollar sentiment, the US deficit, and eroding Fed credibility
Why March 2022 and the freezing of Russian reserves was the seminal tipping point
What China has done since: Treasury holdings down 35%, gold holdings up 20% by ounce
Why media reports that central bank sales prove gold is failing are 180 degrees wrong
Which four central banks sold gold during the Iranian conflict, and why each one did
How gold went from America's 18th largest export to its largest
Why total US debt passing $40 trillion brings the "doom loop" into view
Why 51% of the S&P now trades above 10 times sales, against maybe 10 or 20 companies at the dot-com peak
Why a gold mine with a 10 to 15 year life has a bigger moat than most S&P companies
Nvidia's $750 billion in deals, and what circular financing means for the AI build-out
Why both of the most likely AI outcomes are supportive of gold
What Scott Bessent doubling Treasury bond buybacks signals — from someone who worked for him at Soros
The $85 billion US-Japan yen intervention, and the euros sold to fund it
Buy Precious Metals at: goldsilver.com
Learn about Gold & Silver: goldsilver.com/learn
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/c/goldsilver?sub_confirmation=1
Get Essential Gold & Silver News—Delivered Twice a Week: goldsilver.com/join-our-newsletter
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/GoldSilver_com
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/GoldSilverDotCom
As always, thank you for your support.
The GoldSilver Team
0:00 Introduction
0:40 What Re-Monetization Actually Means
1:40 Why This Time Is Different
2:20 March 2022: The Tipping Point
3:20 Did Central Bank Sales Prove Gold Failed?
6:20 Gold Is Now America's Biggest Export
8:40 China, Hong Kong And Settlement
9:20 The Big Three, And $40 Trillion
10:20 The Doom Loop
11:40 51% Of The S&P Above 10x Sales
13:40 Why Gold Miners Have Bigger Moats
14:40 The AI Build-Out And The Debt Behind It
16:40 Both AI Outcomes Are Gold-Supportive
19:00 AI In Gold Mining
20:00 Bessent, And Signs Of Panic
21:00 The $85 Billion Yen Intervention
21:55 Gold's New Range
