That is more than 90 times what's stated on the government's balance sheet and is reigniting speculation that Treasury Secretary Bessent could revalue (mark to market) the massive pile of precious metal

Unlike most countries, the US's gold is held by the government directly, rather than the central bank.

The Fed instead holds gold certificates corresponding to the value of the Treasury's holdings, and credits the government with dollars in return. 

That means, as we detailed previously, that an update of the reserves' value in line with today's prices would unleash roughly $990 billion into the Treasury's coffers, dramatically reducing the need to issue quite so many Treasury bonds this year.