After looking at the historical price movements of gold, I found an interesting pattern. Gold crashes always seem to be accompanied by dramatic shifts in the economic environment.

The most intense one was from 1980 to 1982. In less than two years, the gold price directly fell by 58.2%. At the time, the United States adopted aggressive monetary policies to fight inflation, and at the same time, the oil crisis began to ease, causing safe-haven/hedging demand to drop sharply. Funds flowed out of the gold market, and the gold price fell accordingly.

Then from 1983 to 1985, there was another wave, with a decline of 41.35%. At that time, the global economy entered a period of significant easing. Developed countries started to recover, risk events decreased, and demand for gold naturally fell as well.

The 2008 financial crisis is actually quite interesting. Although we usually think gold rises during crises, that year—from March to October—the gold price fell instead by 29.5%. The subprime mortgage crisis and the European debt crisis hit, prompting large-scale capital to withdraw; both gold and silver crashed at the same time. The U.S. Federal Reserve began raising interest rates, which further accelerated this process.

From September 2012 to November 2015, gold crashed by 39%. The crash in April 2013 was especially vicious. After that, large amounts of capital poured into the stock market and the real estate market, leaving gold investment demand clearly insufficient, and the gold price continued to slide.

The most recent one was from mid-2016 to the end of the year, with a decline of 16.6%. At the time, investors expected the United States to raise interest rates, and the global economy’s growth also looked fairly strong, so people began selling the gold they held.

Now it’s 2026 again, and we’re at another historical crossroads. Behind every gold crash is a change in economic expectations. I’m wondering whether this round of market volatility could mark the start of the sixth gold crash. It’s worth keeping a close eye on it over time.