Japanese gold buying surged dramatically in early March 2024 when the Bank of Japan diverged from market expectations by committing to indefinite yield curve control, causing the yen to weaken from 146 to 155, which triggered Japanese investors to exercise the 'call option' on gold as insurance against currency collapse and financial system stress.

China is currently sourcing approximately two-thirds of its imported oil and natural gas in RMB rather than US dollars, with Russia and Iran providing oil entirely in RMB and Qatar and others partially in RMB, though China has not yet achieved the goal of 100% RMB energy pricing because convincing major suppliers like Saudi Arabia is deemed too difficult.

The Bretton Woods gold storage system (post-WWII) held foreign nations' gold in New York Federal Reserve vaults in labeled boxes, with trades simply moving gold from one country's box to another, but this system broke down because Russia and other non-Western powers no longer trust the US to hold their reserves after sanctions against Russian frozen assets.