Kazakhstan's central bank plans to cut gold's share of its foreign exchange reserves to 75 percent from 78 percent by the end of the year.

Cryptopolitan, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Oct. 12 that a sharp rise in U.S. Treasury yields has made dollar assets more attractive than non-interest-bearing gold.

Kazakhstan is among the world's biggest gold buyers. The central bank holds 386 tonnes of gold after it stopped selling in February 2025. Foreign exchange reserves stood at $66.4 billion as of September. Authorities see improved access to funds as increasingly important.

The central bank sees the heavy concentration in gold holdings as a factor behind the issue. Kazakhstan is the world's eighth-largest gold producer, and the central bank can buy all domestic gold output. That structure has led reserve assets to become overly tilted toward gold. Deputy Governor Moldabekova said, "With this level of gold share, our holdings start to look like a single-asset portfolio."

The reduction will combine options sales and spot sales. The bank plans to handle half of the planned reduction through options sales and fill the rest through spot gold sales. If gold prices fall below $4,000 per ounce and valuations decline, the sale volume could also be affected.

Kazakhstan's central bank was the world's fourth-largest official gold buyer from January to August 2026. The World Gold Council said Poland, China and Uzbekistan were also among major gold buyers over the same period. Central bank demand for gold rose rapidly after Western countries froze Russia's overseas funds in early 2022. There had been a trend toward diversifying foreign exchange reserves after the global financial crisis, but the Russia case again influenced safe-asset allocation strategies.

Gold prices rose to about $5,600 per ounce in early January this year, but fell about 20 percent after the U.S.-Iran war that began in late February. The price volatility is also affecting the central bank's adjustments to its holding strategy.

A sharp rise in rates in the U.S. Treasury market is also weighing. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit a 24-year high last week, and the 30-year yield rose to 5.36 percent, its highest level in 19 years. The U.S. Treasury took steps such as expanding long-term bond buybacks to lower borrowing costs, but yields climbed back to elevated levels.

Japan's foreign exchange market intervention was also linked to pressure on the Treasury market. The United States sought in July to work with Japan to push for a stronger yen without Japan selling Japanese government bonds, and Japan later said it deployed $99.0 billion from July 30 to Aug. 25. Over the same period, its holdings of overseas securities fell by $88.0 billion.

Kazakhstan's central bank has not said it will sharply cut its gold share further right away. Deputy Governor Moldabekova said, "The market sees the possibility that gold prices will keep rising," adding, "We will first adjust the gold share to around 75 percent and then watch the situation." The pace of future adjustments is expected to vary depending on U.S. Treasury yield levels, gold price trends and conditions for managing foreign exchange reserves.