Bulgarian National Bank buys 2 tons of gold ahead of adoption of the euro

The BNB made this purchase after, on 8 July, the Council of the EU adopted a decision on the adoption of the euro in Bulgaria as of 1 January, 2026. The transactions were carried out on the international markets at market prices. The transaction amounts to under 1% of the BNB’s international currency reserves. According to the rules of the European Central Bank (ECB), when adopting the euro, the BNB must transfer foreign reserve assets to the ECB. The operation in question provides a sufficient amount of gold without reducing the BNB’s gold reserve. The gold purchased is added to the BNB balance as an asset and provides access to the Eurosystem revenue.

At the beginning of October, the World Gold Council said that BNB had acquired 2 tons of gold in August in the biggest operation of this kind since 1997 when Bulgaria introduced the currency board.