Recently, the intersection of U.S. politics and the financial sector has sparked intense discussions in the precious metals market. U.S. President Donald Trump retweeted a video of investment strategist Jim Rickards' speech on "The Midterm Collapse" twice on social media, a move that quickly sent ripples through the investment community. In this lengthy speech discussing political turmoil and debt expansion, Rickards presented a highly striking view: under the assumption of an extreme currency crisis, international gold prices could reach a staggering high of $10,000, or even $20,000 per ounce by the end of 2026.
Although Trump's retweets do not necessarily mean he fully endorses the specific price targets in the speech, the fact that a sitting head of state recommended content discussing the fragility of the financial system and the logic behind a precious metals surge to his supporters sends an unusual signal in itself. Currently, the latest data released by the U.S. Treasury shows that the U.S. national debt historically surpassed the $40 trillion mark in August this year. Against the macroeconomic backdrop of a snowballing debt, intensifying global geopolitical friction, and fluctuating inflation expectations, market concerns over the purchasing power of traditional fiat currencies are quietly spreading.
The core logic behind Rickards' bullish stance on gold is built on shaking confidence in the existing financial system. He points out that as the base price of gold continues to rise, the percentage increase required to achieve a thousand-dollar jump is actually decreasing. More importantly, he does not just stop at theoretical deduction; he has allocated over $1 million of his personal assets to physical gold and related instruments. In addition to holding gold directly, Rickards specifically emphasizes the investment value of gold mining stocks. Due to the significant operating leverage of mining companies, with relatively fixed extraction costs, a surge in gold prices translates directly into exponential profit growth. However, he also objectively warns that mining companies face multiple risks, including operational, managerial, and geopolitical ones, meaning their stock performance cannot be entirely equated with the trend of physical gold.
Currently, the spot gold market is already trading in a high range of around $4,630 per ounce. Moving from this level to the $10,000 target still requires a massive increase of more than double, which is destined to be a highly variable scenario. Amid the interplay of multiple variables such as interest rate policies, central bank gold purchases, and the global supply and demand landscape, the ultimate direction of gold prices remains shrouded in uncertainty. Nevertheless, this discussion indirectly ignited by high-level political figures has prompted an increasing amount of capital to re-examine asset allocation structures. As global debt scales new highs and the credit foundation of traditional financial assets faces severe tests, the underlying value of gold as the ultimate safe-haven tool spanning millennia in hedging against systemic risks is being re-evaluated by the market.
