Research · Note 05

Gold

5 September 2026 · 2 min · Under study

The metal that has outlived all fiat currencies.

When a country borrows too much, it prints. Gold is nobody’s debt, and everyone’s real asset.

$20$35$600$4.4k18001934197120002026
Dollars per ounce, 1800 to 2026, log scale. The official price sat still for a century. After 1971 it was allowed to move.

Indexed to 1800, the dollar has lost about 99.5% of its value versus the gold it could buy.

1001010.418001934197120002026
Gold ounces one dollar buys, indexed to 1800 = 100. The dollar has lost on the order of 99.5% of that claim.

After 1971, the dollar, the pound, and the yen all leaked against gold.

1001010.5197119802000201120202026
  • US dollar
  • Pound sterling
  • Yen
Gold ounces per unit of currency since 1971, indexed to 100. Dollar, pound, and yen all leaked against the metal.

Central banks have been adding gold for a decade, more than 1,000 tonnes a year from 2022 to 2024, and WGC surveys suggest central banks are likely to keep adding in the years ahead.

0400t800t1,200t201520182020202220242025
Net official-sector gold buying, tonnes per year. World Gold Council. 2022–2024 each topped 1,000 tonnes. Illustrative.

Sources: Ray Dalio, Gold is the Safest Money; World Gold Council, 2025; historical prices from public series (NMA / World Gold Council). Charts illustrative. Not investment advice. Not a price target.

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