Business & Economics
Gold Smashes $4,700/Oz Barrier, Igniting New Wave of ‘Monetary’ Demand
20–21 Jan 2026 saw spot gold blow past $4,700 an ounce for the first time, transforming a long-running rally into a full-scale scramble across physical, ETF and blockchain markets.
Focusing Facts
- Spot gold peaked at $4,748.09/oz on 20 Jan 2026, up about 70 % year-on-year.
- Tokenized-gold turnover hit $178 bn in 2025, with $126 bn of that in Q4—second only to the $165 bn-AUM GLD ETF.
- Central banks added 634 t of gold in the first nine months of 2025, the highest since records began in 1950.
Context
The last time bullion shocked markets this way was January 1980, when inflation, Soviet–Afghan tensions and a weak dollar catapulted gold to a then-record $850/oz; adjusted for CPI that peak implied today’s price near $3,000—now finally eclipsed. The present spike reflects three overlapping secular shifts: (1) relentless currency debasement—global debt/GDP has doubled since 2008 while miners add barely 1 – 2 % to supply each year; (2) a geopolitical realignment that is pushing emerging-market central banks and the BRICS bloc out of the dollar and into bullion; and (3) the digitisation of hard assets, which lets retail investors from Lagos to Jakarta buy micro-slices of vaulted metal at the tap of a phone. Whether $4,700 marks a mania top or merely a waypoint toward $5,000, the episode matters because it underscores gold’s uncanny ability to reinvent its distribution technology while preserving its monetary mystique—something it has done repeatedly since the Lydians minted staters in 600 BCE. On a century arc, the move hints at an incremental remonetisation of gold amid a slow erosion of faith in fiat institutions.
Perspectives
Hard-money commentators and alternative finance blogs
e.g., Zero Hedge, Monetary Metals — Gold’s record run is proof that fiat currencies—especially the U.S. dollar—are in terminal decline, so prudent savers should shift into metal and even make it ‘productive’ through leasing and similar schemes. These outlets sell gold-linked products and champion an anti-establishment monetary worldview, so they frame every policy misstep as bullish for gold while largely ignoring scenarios where the metal underperforms.
Traditional personal-finance and mainstream investment media
e.g., Fortune, WTOP/U.S. News, The Age — Gold remains a useful portfolio diversifier and inflation hedge, but its post-rally entry point is debatable and equities can still outperform over time, so investors should size positions modestly via ETFs or IRAs. Reliant on broker and advertiser relationships, they aim for balanced-sounding advice that encourages trading activity yet avoids outright cheer-leading, soft-pedalling gold’s downside to keep audiences engaged.
Crypto and blockchain industry publications
e.g., TokenPost — Tokenized gold is exploding in popularity, out-trading most traditional ETFs, and offers a liquid, borderless way for retail investors to gain safe-haven exposure as prices march toward $5,000. As boosters of crypto exchanges, they spotlight eye-catching volume stats and growth narratives while downplaying concentration risk, regulatory scrutiny and the fact that tokenized gold is still tiny versus the physical market.