Gold remained elevated in August as geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty sustained demand for traditional safe-haven assets. In Lebanon, demand was particularly strong. Physical shortages pushed premiums on gold to more than $250 an ounce above international spot prices, while the rise in global prices sharply increased the market value of the country’s roughly 286 tonnes of gold reserves.

LIMS attributed the broader rally to a combination of geopolitical risk, central-bank purchases and renewed demand from individual investors. Gold’s volatility during periods of tension around the Strait of Hormuz underscored its sensitivity to geopolitical risk. For Lebanese households, however, gold’s role as a store of value came at a growing cost: tight physical supply, high premiums, commissions and acquisition costs made the traditional hedge increasingly expensive.

Bitcoin was also gaining attention as a different form of monetary protection. Following the collapse of the Lebanese pound, LIMS highlighted its appeal not as a speculative asset, but as a monetary system governed by predetermined rules rather than discretionary expansion. Its digital form also offers greater portability and transferability when financial systems are disrupted.

For Lebanon, the growing demand for both gold and Bitcoin pointed to the same underlying concern: households and investors continue to seek assets that can preserve value when confidence in monetary and political institutions is fragile.

• Is Bitcoin an Alternative to the Lebanese Pound? July 28, 2026: Arab Files, Video interview (AR)
• Amid Gold Price Volatility, Could Bitcoin Become Your Safest Haven? August 8, 2026: OTV, Video interview (AR)