Now, as Elon Musk brands the U.S. debt clock “terrifying,” bitcoin-backing U.S. senator Cynthia Lummis has pitched Musk a bitcoin “fix” to questions over the U.S. gold reserves.
“Bitcoin fixes this,” Lummis posted to X in response to Musk’s question about how often the U.S. gold in Fort Knox is reviewed. “A bitcoin reserve could be audited any time 24/7 with a basic computer. It’s time to upgrade our reserves.”
“The recent decrease in volatility, coupled with the rising price of gold, should highlight bitcoinʼs growing appeal as an alternative store of value,” analysts with the Bitfinex crypto exchange said in emailed comments. “We believe that while bitcoin may face some short-term pressures due to macroeconomic headwinds in the coming weeks, its long-term value proposition continues to strengthen.”
Gold prices are “not even that far away from all-time highs, so the upward momentum is there, we just need some kind of trigger to get it going,” Blue Line Futures chief market strategist Phillip Streible said.
Front-month Comex gold (XAUUSD:CUR) for January delivery settled +1.1% to $2,766.80/oz, gold’s 11th gain in 15 sessions, and front-month January silver (XAGUSD:CUR) closed +1.5% to $30.727/oz.
What are goldbacks? Well I’m happy you stumbled upon my blog to learn more about this amazing and innovative way to pay for goods and services with actual gold.
This isn’t paying with gold coins or bars but actually paying with gold bills. These bills contain gold within them and are measured on the bills itself. Gold foil if you will.
These bills are gold and have the amount of gold listed on the front of each bill from 1/2000th of a troy ounce to 1/10th of .999 fine gold (24k gold). They are beautifully decorated with art work from the Goldback artists and an added combination of anticounterfeiting features within each bill.
There are currently (as of 2025) 6 states with representation on these bills. Those states include Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Florida. Florida is the newest goldback series for this year. The bills start at 1/2, 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 gold bills.
I do not yet have any of the Florida or South Dakota goldbacks but I’m in the process of purchasing and I really can’t wait to have them.
As of this posting, Oklahoma will be available for preorder Aug. 1st, 2025 at various online sellers. If you’re lucky to find a vendor who is actually selling the goldbacks in person, pick them up! That’s how I learned about these, from a seller at a coin show.
Well that’s a great question! Some could argue that getting these bills is not worth purchasing because you can’t spend these anywhere you want. Or, why are you buying such a small amount of gold when you can get gold bars for a much higher trade in value?
These bills are apart of the sound money movement. Sound money means it recognizes the value in gold and silver not paper fiat. Which is basically saying that paper money does not hold value like gold. For many investors, this is a real concern and is why this movement is a big deal during these economic times.
So why should you buy goldbacks? Goldbacks, like gold, retain their value and give you more purchasing power. While these have a very small amount of gold on each bill the form factor makes it easy to use your gold for everyday purchases.
On their website they say that goldbacks are “The currency for now, Currency for the future.” I for one am very into the idea of this being a great way to use my gold for purchases and my currency. Unfortunately, this cannot be used anywhere……Yet!
Pros and Cons of Goldbacks
As you just read, you cannot use these anywhere. Which is the biggest con but only for now. But they is much more to it than just spending.
The pros:
Hedge against inflation – as gold has been known to be a safe haven against inflation
Spendable – can be spent at small businesses that accept goldbacks
Collectability – certain bills could be collectable
Privacy – allows you to spend at your own leisure and without banks
Substantial – Goldbacks are real they are physical and unlike digital currency this is in hand
The cons :
Liquidity – this product my be hard to find buyers
Volatility – this is tied to the gold prices and will
Storage – if this product will need to be taken care of properly to avoid loss or damage
Higher premiums – you will pay more than the gold value because of the cost of production to make these bills.
I feel that the pros outweigh the cons as the pros are more valuable when it comes to owning these bills. Storage and higher premiums are not that big of a deal to me. I wouldn’t not take care of my investments and I expect to pay a certain price when buying from someone anyway. Just like silver rounds. But that’s a different topic.
Are Goldbacks worth it?
In my opinion, I will not tell you to go and do something unless you feel it’s the right option for you. I believe it is worth it for those that appreciate all forms of gold and ways to spend their investments in person and upfront. This might also be right up your ally to collect these bills as they are absolutely beautiful and stunning to look at and hold in your hand
These goldbacks are still very new. They just started in 2019. I think that this will go a long way but we don’t know how long these will last. There are more and more small businesses that are accepting these as payment and that’s a good sign.
I will continue to purchase these and add to my portfolio and, as I said in previous posts, would actually use these if ever I needed or had the opportunity to do so. Even with some cons to these bills they won’t stop me or many others who are currently investing.
Make sure to do more research if you’re on the fence. Talk to dealers, get some reviews, and look up the website for more info here.
*Disclaimer: I have not received any payment, products, services, or other compensation for discussing this topic. My comments reflect my personal views only.*
“While traditionally inflation and real yields have been the main drivers of gold prices, recently central bank buying has emerged as the primary catalyst behind the current gold price increase,” according to a recent research note by Bank of America’s Global Commodity Research’s Franciso Blanch and Irina Shaorshadze.
George Milling-Stanley, chief gold strategist at State Street Global Advisors, also believes central-bank buying will keep gold humming this year, but he also sees two additional drivers.
Barrick Gold will resume operations at its shuttered Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali once authorities in the country allow it to resume gold shipments, CEO Mark Bristow said on Wednesday.
“We will start the operations as soon as we get approval to ship the gold and we need to ship the gold to pay anything to the government,” Bristow said, adding that Barrick paid $460 million to the Mali government last year.
“So if you calculate that to per week… and every week we don’t do this it hurts everyone,” he added.
A surge in rates to borrow the precious metal has become the latest sign of alarm, with anxiety building over the impact of further tariffs from US President Donald Trump. That’s sparked a dash to ship silver into the US in a bid to capture premium prices in New York, possibly causing a squeeze in London.
“Should the long-fabled ‘silver squeeze’ materialize, this slower tradeflow will be a key contributor to prolonging” any potential disruption BMO Capital Markets analyst George Heppel said in a note. That’s because it would take time for silver stockpiles to flow from the US back to London, he said.
