Recently browsing financial news, the gold market has filled the entire screen. From an initial price of $3,000 per ounce at the beginning of the year to $4,600, the annual increase is nearly 70%, making it the most aggressive rally since the 1979 oil crisis. Morgan Stanley predicts that by the end of 2026, gold prices could reach $4,800, while JPMorgan has even set a target of $6,000.

But what I want to discuss this time is not just gold itself—gold is more like a signal light. The real story is that the world is experiencing a trust crisis in the monetary system, which many traditional investors have not yet fully recognized. Against this backdrop, the revaluation of digital scarce assets may just be the beginning.

On the surface, the rise in gold prices is due to central bank purchases, geopolitical tensions, and expectations of interest rate cuts stacking up, but to truly understand this rally, we need to look deeper.

Central bank gold purchases are no longer short-term actions; they have become a strategic necessity. From 2022 to 2024, global central banks bought over 1,000 tons of gold each year, twice the average level of the past decade. More interestingly, the proportion of gold reserves held by central banks in emerging markets is mostly below 10%, far lower than the over 70% in Europe and America. What does this mean? There is still plenty of room for increased holdings.

Another driving force is the erosion of dollar trust. The US national debt has already surged to $38.39 trillion, exceeding the GDP in 2024 by 30%. As the fundamentals of the reserve currency start to tighten, central banks around the world will naturally look for ways to diversify risk. Gold, as a traditional safe-haven asset, has become the most direct choice.