Why Biggest Money in the World Is Demanding Physical Gold &

Source: Miles Franklin | Date: January 23, 2026

Key Takeaways

Physical delivery on COMEX has surged to unprecedented levels, with December 2024 seeing the largest silver delivery in COMEX history (68 million ounces) - historically less than 1% of contracts stood for delivery, now billions in deliveries occur monthly
Major banks are reversing positions: U.S. banks now net long on precious metals while European/Canadian banks remain dangerously short, with TD Bank recently stopped out of a massive short position
Central banks globally are structurally shifting reserves from U.S. Treasuries to gold, with Goldman expecting 60 tons of monthly central bank purchases through 2026
The monetary system appears to be fracturing, with European leadership openly discussing moving away from dollar dependence and reintegrating gold into the global financial system

Goldman Sachs raised gold target to $5,400 citing "stickier" institutional demand driven by long-term fiscal concerns
Silver trading at $8-10 premium in China versus Western markets, indicating strong Eastern demand and potential arbitrage opportunities
Potential gold repricing scenarios: VanEck study suggests gold could reach $39,000-$184,000 per ounce if it replaces the dollar as reserve standard
Systemic risk warning: Failure to deliver by major banks could trigger contagion similar to Bear Stearns collapse in 2008

Gold: Currently $4,940/oz, up 13% YTD, with massive physical deliveries on COMEX
Silver: Nearly $97/oz, up 35% YTD, designated as critical mineral by U.S. government
U.S. Treasuries: Nordic pension funds divesting billions (Denmark's $100M, Sweden's $9B exits)
COMEX futures: Unprecedented physical delivery demand across precious metals contracts
Tether: Accumulated $14 billion in gold reserves, largest private stockpile globally

"The people standing for delivery do not care about margin. They don't buy on margin when they're spending billions and billions and billions of dollars." - Andy Schectman on institutional demand
"We have all the cards." - President Trump responding to European threats of Treasury sales, suggesting U.S. preparedness for financial warfare

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