Central banks, particularly China, may start to shift away from US Treasurys, exploring alternatives such as gold and Bitcoin, according to Jay Jacobs, BlackRock’s head of thematics and active ETFs.
In a recent interview with CNBC, Jacobs said that geopolitical tensions and rising global uncertainty are accelerating diversification strategies among central banks.
He pointed to a long-term trend where countries have been reducing their reliance on dollar-based reserves in favor of assets like gold and, increasingly, Bitcoin (BTC).
“This whole diversification away from traditional assets and into things like gold and also crypto […] probably began three, four years ago,” Jacobs explained.
He said that recent geopolitical fragmentation has intensified the push toward alternative stores of value.
Jacobs referenced growing concerns about the freezing of $300 billion in Russian central bank assets following its invasion of Ukraine, suggesting that such