According to CoinMeta, the Bank of Korea has purchased gold-related assets for the first time since 2013 in order to hedge against geopolitical and economic uncertainties. According to documents submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as of the end of the second quarter, the Bank of Korea held 679,765 shares of SPDR Gold Shares, worth approximately $250 million. The documents show that three months prior, the bank did not hold any shares of the world's largest physical gold-backed ETF. Choi Kyuho, an economist at Hanwha Investment & Securities, stated that the Bank of Korea's current allocation of gold is quite low, and there is still room for further gold purchases, with an expected gradual increase in the amount of gold held.