Technology billionaire Musk recently entered the payment system of the US Treasury Department and is now preparing to personally audit the gold reserves of Fort Knox on behalf of the Department of Efficiency (DOGE).

On Monday afternoon, Musk posted two messages on his X platform announcing his plans, which means he doubts whether the $425 billion worth of gold is really there.

Republican Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky, where Fort Knox is located, said on Monday that he invited Musk to review the gold reserves, which he had been unable to access for a decade.

Paul said, "I think some of them may think that audits don't need to be conducted all the time, but I think the more sunshine, the better, and the higher the transparency, the better

The senator also insists that although the US dollar has not received explicit support from gold for over 50 years, gold still provides some value to support the dollar.

He said, 'This draws attention to the fact that gold still has value, and implicitly, not explicitly, but implicitly, gold still gives value to the US dollar. That's why we haven't gotten rid of it, we have it, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has it, the World Bank has it.'. Most central banks in the world hold gold, which is an implicit trust that the US dollar still has some support

According to the World Gold Council (WGC), as of the end of 2024, the United States has over 8100 tons of gold reserves, undoubtedly the largest in the world. Most of the gold in the United States is stored in the Fort Knox complex, which covers an area of 108955 acres, while the rest is stored at the Federal Reserve in New York.

Paul said that he has been trying to 'make sure everything is there' for over a decade, but has not been successful. In 2017, during the first Trump administration, he obtained permission to enter Fort Knox, but the timing of this trip was not arranged properly. On the contrary, the then Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell visited the vault and returned claiming that the gold was there.

He said, "I didn't go down, but the Secretary of the Treasury and the senior senator from Kentucky did go down and testified that they believed they saw the gold there

Musk has not yet announced when he and DOGE employees plan to visit Fort Knox, nor has he announced what method he will use to verify the quantity and authenticity of the gold bars. But in response to an earlier post by Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee, Musk seemed to suggest that real-time video surveillance of this top secret facility may be part of the plan. Mike Lee also shared his failed attempt to access Fort Knox.

The US gold reserves have received unprecedented attention in decades, as members of the Trump administration have hinted that this precious metal may play a role in their economic plans as more and more people speculate that the US government may adjust the valuation of its reserves.

The US Treasury Department has the world's largest gold reserve of 8100 tons, but the value of this gold has not changed since 1972, when the gold price was set at $42 per ounce.

Some analysts point out that if the US government revalues its gold reserves at the current price of over $2900 per ounce, the Treasury's treasury could increase by over $760 billion.

Speculation surrounding the US government's gold reserves began to heat up earlier this month, after the newly appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that he would "monetize the asset side of the US balance sheet".

But on February 13th, Bloomberg reported that an anonymous source said that President Trump's senior economic advisor did not "seriously consider" this idea.

Some market analysts also suggest that this may not be the best way for the government to improve its balance sheet.

Robert Minter, head of ETF strategy at abdn, stated in a report that the rise in government gold prices will not substantially change the government's balance sheet issues.

He said, "Valuing this gold at market price (about $3000 per ounce) can improve the Federal Reserve's asset liability ratio, but will only bring it closer to major US banks such as Goldman Sachs." He wrote in the report, "If gold is revalued, the Federal Reserve's asset liability ratio (leverage ratio) would be about 12:1, with $12 in liabilities for every $1 in assets, while the asset liability ratio of major US banks would be about 11:1. If gold prices were $42, the Federal Reserve's asset liability ratio would be about 179:1, with $179 in liabilities for every $1 in assets

Nicky Shiels, head of research and metal strategy at MKS PAMP, stated in a report on Thursday that the funds generated from the US debt exceeding $36 trillion will not be worth mentioning. Although this is still a hypothetical debate, Shiels stated that it is currently unclear whether this is positive or negative for gold.

However, she did emphasize some risks as this would be a one-time boost for the Ministry of Finance. The second risk is that this reassessment will occur as gold prices approach historical highs.

Stephen Miran, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers nominated by Trump, suggested that the US government could sell gold and use the proceeds to purchase other currencies. This will weaken the US dollar and give the United States a trade advantage.

Selling off US gold reserves will also affect the reserves of emerging market central banks, which have been accumulating gold at a record pace over the past three years.

At the same time, Judy Shelton, nominated by President Trump as Federal Reserve Chair last year, advocated for the government to issue bonds paid in gold.