WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.799 Welcome to the deep dive. You know how we do 00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:06.139 things here. We grab a pile of fascinating information 00:00:06.139 --> 00:00:09.060 and we give you the shortcut to really understanding 00:00:09.060 --> 00:00:11.980 what's going on. Today, we're looking at a huge 00:00:11.980 --> 00:00:15.099 financial story, but it's less about predicting 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:18.820 markets and, well, much more about systemic stress. 00:00:19.339 --> 00:00:21.570 Exactly. We're talking about gold. And specifically 00:00:21.570 --> 00:00:25.469 that moment back in October 2025 when gold just 00:00:25.469 --> 00:00:28.010 smashed through all expectations trading above 00:00:28.010 --> 00:00:30.670 four thousand dollars an ounce. First time ever. 00:00:30.969 --> 00:00:32.990 But look, our mission today isn't about investment 00:00:32.990 --> 00:00:35.710 tips. No, it's about digging into what that historic 00:00:35.710 --> 00:00:38.109 price really tells us. That's the crux of it, 00:00:38.130 --> 00:00:40.619 isn't it? Four thousand dollars. It's way more 00:00:40.619 --> 00:00:42.200 than just a number on a screen. It makes it look 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:44.460 deeper. Gold's always been a safe haven, sure, 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:46.979 for centuries. But hitting this kind of level, 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:48.820 it signals something else. It's like a flashing 00:00:48.820 --> 00:00:50.960 red light for fundamental risks in the whole 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:52.799 global economy. And what's really striking is 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:55.320 the timing. You've got global stocks, bonds, 00:00:55.700 --> 00:00:58.060 major currencies, all looking pretty volatile, 00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:01.159 right? And then boom, gold surges to $4 ,000. 00:01:01.399 --> 00:01:04.099 It actually makes gold one of the top performing 00:01:04.099 --> 00:01:08.269 assets in 2025. That difference, that gap. it 00:01:08.269 --> 00:01:10.530 tells you capital is scrambling, scrambling out 00:01:10.530 --> 00:01:12.569 of paper assets and into something, well, tangible. 00:01:12.870 --> 00:01:14.650 Okay, so let's start peeling this back. We've 00:01:14.650 --> 00:01:16.670 seen gold go up before, obviously, but this, 00:01:16.969 --> 00:01:19.810 this feels different somehow. What are the deep 00:01:19.810 --> 00:01:22.689 structural things powering this, going way beyond 00:01:22.689 --> 00:01:25.189 just like short -term trading? Yeah, it really 00:01:25.189 --> 00:01:27.269 boils down to two massive forces and they're 00:01:27.269 --> 00:01:29.510 locked together. First, you've got economic certainty 00:01:29.510 --> 00:01:32.349 just... evaporating under this mountain of debt. 00:01:32.969 --> 00:01:34.909 And second, geopolitical tensions are ratcheting 00:01:34.909 --> 00:01:36.909 up, which pushes risk premiums higher across 00:01:36.909 --> 00:01:38.969 the board. Let's tackle the debt first. The numbers 00:01:38.969 --> 00:01:40.790 we looked at, frankly, they're kind of terrifying. 00:01:41.390 --> 00:01:44.549 Total global debt is now over 256 % of world 00:01:44.549 --> 00:01:48.549 GDP. Just think about that number. 256%. It is. 00:01:48.670 --> 00:01:51.269 It's truly staggering. And it raises these huge 00:01:51.269 --> 00:01:54.030 questions about long -term sustainability. How 00:01:54.030 --> 00:01:57.709 long can this go on? When debt's that high, the 00:01:57.709 --> 00:02:00.469 whole system becomes brittle. It loses its flexibility. 00:02:00.650 --> 00:02:02.790 So any little shock, maybe a recession hits, 00:02:02.930 --> 00:02:05.450 maybe a supply chain snaps, it can cascade into 00:02:05.450 --> 00:02:08.069 a global credit crisis almost overnight. And 00:02:08.069 --> 00:02:11.210 people, they run to gold. Because it's the one 00:02:11.210 --> 00:02:13.050 asset that isn't someone else's IOU, someone 00:02:13.050 --> 00:02:15.229 else's liability. Right. But hang on. If central 00:02:15.229 --> 00:02:17.270 banks are hiking interest rates to fight inflation, 00:02:17.469 --> 00:02:19.969 which they have been, doesn't that theoretically 00:02:19.969 --> 00:02:21.930 at least boost confidence in their currency over 00:02:21.930 --> 00:02:23.990 the long run? Isn't monetary policy supposed 00:02:23.990 --> 00:02:27.169 to stop fiat money becoming worthless? Ah, well, 00:02:27.409 --> 00:02:29.490 that's the bind they're in. That's the real tension 00:02:29.490 --> 00:02:31.569 we're seeing play out. Yes, they hike rates. 00:02:32.139 --> 00:02:33.719 But those higher rates mean governments have 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:36.379 to spend vastly more just paying the interest 00:02:36.379 --> 00:02:39.400 on the debt they already have. It creates this 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:42.400 nasty feedback loop. Higher rates are meant to 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:44.800 stop inflation, but they also blow up the debt 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:48.099 servicing costs, which then creates political 00:02:48.099 --> 00:02:51.099 pressure to maybe cut rates again or print more 00:02:51.099 --> 00:02:54.639 money, which ultimately undermines the very confidence 00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:56.400 they were trying to build in the first place. 00:02:56.659 --> 00:02:59.759 And then you layer on top. the political instability, 00:02:59.979 --> 00:03:02.159 right? Like the constant threat of government 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:04.319 shutdowns we saw in the U .S. or just general 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:06.400 uncertainty about fiscal policy. It creates this 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:09.439 unpredictability and capital hates unpredictability. 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:11.659 The second governments or institutions start 00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:14.500 looking shaky, poof, money flows out of their 00:03:14.500 --> 00:03:16.599 debt and straight into things like gold. Precisely. 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:19.280 And that flow gets amplified by all the geopolitical 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:21.400 stress points. Think about the ongoing trade 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:23.759 disputes, the U .S. tariffs, the counter tariffs. 00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:27.419 That cycle creates massive uncertainty for global 00:03:27.419 --> 00:03:30.289 trade. Businesses just can't plan effectively, 00:03:30.389 --> 00:03:33.550 so they hedge. And we're also seeing actual physical 00:03:33.550 --> 00:03:36.469 conflicts adding to the risk premium. The war 00:03:36.469 --> 00:03:39.169 in Ukraine sadly continues, unrest across the 00:03:39.169 --> 00:03:41.550 Middle East. It means every supply chain, every 00:03:41.550 --> 00:03:43.550 energy source, every major trade route feels, 00:03:43.650 --> 00:03:46.710 well, riskier. there's an elevated threat level. 00:03:47.069 --> 00:03:49.129 And it's not just external conflicts either. 00:03:49.289 --> 00:03:51.930 Look at the internal political instability. Even 00:03:51.930 --> 00:03:54.430 in big traditionally stable places like France 00:03:54.430 --> 00:03:57.349 or Japan, governments there are facing serious 00:03:57.349 --> 00:04:00.009 internal challenges, protests. All of this feeds 00:04:00.009 --> 00:04:02.250 into investors preferring assets that are seen 00:04:02.250 --> 00:04:06.039 as truly non -sovereign, stable. outside the 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:08.300 political fray. Which brings us, I think, very 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:10.439 nearly to the core of the story here. Okay, so 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:12.599 geopolitical chaos, macroeconomic uncertainty, 00:04:13.259 --> 00:04:15.340 capital usually flees weak assets for the strong 00:04:15.340 --> 00:04:17.500 ones. But what happens when the strongest asset, 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:19.740 the U .S. dollar, the world's reserve currency, 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:22.680 starts to look, well, shaky itself? This is where 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:25.500 it gets really interesting. This is the fundamental 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:27.819 shift in confidence we're talking about. In fiat 00:04:27.819 --> 00:04:30.800 currencies, yes, but specifically the U .S. dollar. 00:04:31.220 --> 00:04:34.339 For decades, the dollar was king. Untouchable, 00:04:34.339 --> 00:04:37.040 almost. But the data we reviewed showed something 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:39.620 pretty shocking. The U .S. dollar lost around 00:04:39.620 --> 00:04:41.899 10 percent of its value just in the first half 00:04:41.899 --> 00:04:45.860 of 2025. Wow, 10 percent in six months. That's 00:04:45.860 --> 00:04:48.079 that's the worst performance for the dollar in 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:50.240 50 years, half a century. We're not just talking 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:52.980 about a bit of inflation slowly grinding away 00:04:52.980 --> 00:04:56.240 value. This is a huge historical drop in purchasing 00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:58.819 power. What on earth fueled that kind of rapid 00:04:58.819 --> 00:05:00.819 decline? It's a confluence of factors hitting 00:05:00.819 --> 00:05:02.839 all at once. You've got these persistent large 00:05:02.839 --> 00:05:04.839 fiscal deficits in the U .S., just the sheer 00:05:04.839 --> 00:05:07.660 amount of debt being created. Combine that with 00:05:07.660 --> 00:05:09.680 the market waking up to the fact that U .S. economic 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:12.060 growth is actually slowing down. So high spending, 00:05:12.540 --> 00:05:14.819 slow growth, plus that constant policy uncertainty 00:05:14.819 --> 00:05:18.079 we mentioned. It creates this deep sense of vulnerability 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:20.660 around the world's main reserve currency. And 00:05:20.660 --> 00:05:22.839 naturally, when the dollar takes a hit like that, 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:24.920 the rest of the global financial system pays 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:28.000 attention. Big time. We saw reports showing central 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.519 banks around the world reacting pretty decisively. 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:32.639 They're buying gold, increasing their reserves 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:36.079 at a rate we haven't seen before. Why? To diversify 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:38.420 away from relying so heavily on the U .S. dollar 00:05:38.420 --> 00:05:41.779 to hedge that currency risk. Exactly. Countries 00:05:41.779 --> 00:05:45.079 like Poland, several key economies in Asia, they're 00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:48.560 making major gold purchases. publicly. And this 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:50.720 isn't just, you know, tactical hedging. It feels 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:53.379 more strategic. It's part of this broader move 00:05:53.379 --> 00:05:56.120 towards, let's call it de -dollarization, building 00:05:56.120 --> 00:05:58.800 up a more balanced reserve portfolio to protect 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:01.259 their own economies from, well, from the volatility 00:06:01.259 --> 00:06:03.740 of U .S. policy, both monetary and fiscal. OK, 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:05.980 that really sets the stage for this next piece, 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:08.500 which feels like a major structural change. It's 00:06:08.500 --> 00:06:11.439 not just governments buying gold anymore. Institutional 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:14.240 banks, the big players, are now essentially mandated 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:16.560 to view gold differently. Yeah. Let's talk about 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:18.930 Basel III. It sounds technical, but it seems 00:06:18.930 --> 00:06:22.610 like a quiet yet profound driver behind this 00:06:22.610 --> 00:06:25.769 $4 ,000 price. Yes, this is absolutely a critical 00:06:25.769 --> 00:06:28.829 pivot, an institutional one. Basel III, it's 00:06:28.829 --> 00:06:30.990 the big regulatory framework that came out of 00:06:30.990 --> 00:06:34.129 the ashes of the 2008 financial crisis, and it 00:06:34.129 --> 00:06:36.310 dictates how banks have to classify the assets 00:06:36.310 --> 00:06:38.810 they hold on their books. Before these changes 00:06:38.810 --> 00:06:42.009 fully phased in, gold was treated, well, somewhat 00:06:42.009 --> 00:06:44.850 ambiguously in regulatory terms. Now, the framework 00:06:44.850 --> 00:06:47.170 fundamentally changes how physical gold is treated 00:06:47.170 --> 00:06:49.480 on a bank's balance sheet. Okay, walk us through 00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:52.019 that. Why does this matter so much to a huge 00:06:52.019 --> 00:06:55.060 bank holding billions in reserves? What exactly 00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:57.540 did Basil III change that suddenly makes physical 00:06:57.540 --> 00:07:00.680 gold look so much better than, say, paper promises 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:03.509 related to gold? Right. It recognized allocated 00:07:03.509 --> 00:07:05.910 physical gold as a tier one asset, specifically 00:07:05.910 --> 00:07:08.009 classifying it as a high quality liquid asset 00:07:08.009 --> 00:07:11.029 or HQLA. That designation. It's a game changer. 00:07:11.230 --> 00:07:13.769 For regulators, HQLA is the absolute top tier 00:07:13.769 --> 00:07:15.889 of collateral. It's treated almost like cash 00:07:15.889 --> 00:07:18.709 or the very safest government bonds. And allocated 00:07:18.709 --> 00:07:21.350 gold got this status primarily because it lacks 00:07:21.350 --> 00:07:23.970 counterparty risk. Let's just pause there and 00:07:23.970 --> 00:07:25.769 make that distinction crystal clear for everyone 00:07:25.769 --> 00:07:28.129 listening, because it's really fundamental. When 00:07:28.129 --> 00:07:31.370 we say allocated gold, what we mean is physical 00:07:31.370 --> 00:07:36.009 gold bars or coins, specifically set aside, identifiable 00:07:36.009 --> 00:07:38.470 and owned outright by that bank or investor. 00:07:38.829 --> 00:07:41.170 Correct. That's exactly right. It's their property 00:07:41.170 --> 00:07:43.870 sitting in a specific vault registered under 00:07:43.870 --> 00:07:46.709 their name. It's tangible. Unallocated gold, 00:07:46.709 --> 00:07:48.730 on the other hand, is an ownership of specific 00:07:48.730 --> 00:07:52.050 bars. It's basically just a claim against a dealer's 00:07:52.050 --> 00:07:54.449 general pool of gold holdings, like an IOU from 00:07:54.449 --> 00:07:56.600 the dealer. Now, if that dealer, that counterparty, 00:07:56.740 --> 00:07:58.660 gets into trouble and fails, like we saw with 00:07:58.660 --> 00:08:01.620 institutions during the 2008 crisis, well, your 00:08:01.620 --> 00:08:03.399 claim, your unallocated gold position, could 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:06.199 become worthless. So by recognizing that allocated 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:09.019 gold doesn't have this counterparty risk, Basel 00:08:09.019 --> 00:08:11.420 III essentially declared it inherently safer 00:08:11.420 --> 00:08:14.139 from a regulatory standpoint. So almost overnight, 00:08:14.620 --> 00:08:16.579 the global banking regulators effectively said, 00:08:16.839 --> 00:08:20.360 look, we trust an actual physical bar of gold 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:23.199 sitting in your vault more than we trust your 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:26.579 claim against another bank's. pool of gold. Why 00:08:26.579 --> 00:08:28.839 make that definitive switch now? I mean, the 00:08:28.839 --> 00:08:30.579 third rules have been discussed and developed 00:08:30.579 --> 00:08:33.200 for years, right? It's really a reflection, I 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:36.159 think, of a deeper regulatory reaction first 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:38.679 to the systemic failures revealed back in 2008, 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:41.639 but also it's underscored by the sheer scale 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:44.080 of global debt we discussed earlier. Regulators 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:46.700 desperately want banks to hold assets that can 00:08:46.700 --> 00:08:49.259 genuinely be turned into cash in a crisis without 00:08:49.259 --> 00:08:51.379 depending on another institution staying solvent. 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:54.419 Gold, now recognized as HQLA, does that. And 00:08:54.419 --> 00:08:57.139 as a bonus for the banks, holding more HQLA like 00:08:57.139 --> 00:08:59.480 physical gold improves their capital adequacy 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:01.269 ratios. It means they might They need to hold 00:09:01.269 --> 00:09:03.690 less other riskier forms of capital against their 00:09:03.690 --> 00:09:05.710 liabilities. It makes their balance sheet look 00:09:05.710 --> 00:09:08.549 stronger. And that regulatory seal of approval, 00:09:08.789 --> 00:09:12.009 that HQLA status, it's completely changing gold 00:09:12.009 --> 00:09:13.909 function, isn't it? It's moving it away from 00:09:13.909 --> 00:09:16.210 being just this static, inert thing sitting in 00:09:16.210 --> 00:09:19.210 a vault to becoming a functional working asset 00:09:19.210 --> 00:09:21.610 and the day -to -day machinery of high finance. 00:09:22.570 --> 00:09:24.429 You mentioned it can now be used as collateral. 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:27.019 Like in repo markets. Precisely. That's a huge 00:09:27.019 --> 00:09:29.879 development. Let's put it simply. Imagine a large 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:32.379 bank needs cash quickly, maybe just overnight. 00:09:32.779 --> 00:09:35.799 Short -term liquidity. Before, their main options 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:38.240 were to sell some assets, maybe quickly, maybe 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:40.720 at a bad price, or use things like top -tier 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:43.299 government bonds as collateral in a repurchase 00:09:43.299 --> 00:09:45.940 agreement or repo transaction. Now, under Basel 00:09:45.940 --> 00:09:48.240 III, they can use their allocated gold reserves 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:51.019 just as easily for that same purpose, as collateral 00:09:51.019 --> 00:09:53.320 in repo deals or potentially in swap arrangements, 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:55.659 too. This means they can raise the cash they 00:09:55.659 --> 00:09:57.580 need without having to sell their physical gold. 00:09:57.940 --> 00:09:59.919 It makes their existing gold reserves far more 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:02.039 useful, far more liquid and functional on a daily 00:10:02.039 --> 00:10:05.419 basis. Wow. OK, so that makes gold a productive 00:10:05.419 --> 00:10:08.200 asset again in a way it hasn't been for maybe 00:10:08.200 --> 00:10:11.559 decades. That alone must be driving significant 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:14.539 institutional demand almost irrespective of day 00:10:14.539 --> 00:10:17.399 -to -day price moves or inflation fears Absolutely. 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:19.899 And that internal shift within the Western banking 00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:22.019 system is mirrored by developments happening 00:10:22.019 --> 00:10:24.440 elsewhere, particularly the rise of alternative 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:26.679 financial centers, especially in Asia. We've 00:10:26.679 --> 00:10:28.700 seen really significant investment in financial 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:31.139 infrastructure there. Take the Shanghai Gold 00:10:31.139 --> 00:10:33.899 Exchange, its futures market. It's now offering 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:36.379 global settlement options. It's actively trying 00:10:36.379 --> 00:10:39.059 to position itself as an independent, you know, 00:10:39.139 --> 00:10:41.980 sovereign infrastructure for pricing and trading 00:10:41.980 --> 00:10:44.659 physical metal away from the traditional centers 00:10:44.659 --> 00:10:47.379 like London or New York. So this move towards 00:10:47.379 --> 00:10:49.740 Asian -based physical settlement infrastructure. 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:52.700 It reinforces that de -dollarization trend we 00:10:52.700 --> 00:10:55.460 talked about. And it's also a move away from 00:10:55.460 --> 00:10:57.539 the dominance of the traditional London -based 00:10:57.539 --> 00:10:59.919 paper gold market, which has often been criticized 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:02.600 for, well, a lack of transparency. It sounds 00:11:02.600 --> 00:11:04.820 like evidence of a bigger rewiring of global 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:07.279 finance. It feels like a seismic shift, yes. 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:09.679 So let's bring this all together. What does this 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:11.600 mean for you, the listener, trying to make sense 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:14.559 of this? When we see this $4 ,000 price flashing 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:17.039 on the screen, is this just another speculative 00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:19.419 bubble, you know, something temporary that'll 00:11:19.419 --> 00:11:22.279 pop when geopolitical risks eventually cool down? 00:11:22.539 --> 00:11:24.860 Or are we really watching something deeper, something 00:11:24.860 --> 00:11:26.940 more permanent unfold? I think we really need 00:11:26.940 --> 00:11:31.080 to view the gold price less as Less is a speculative 00:11:31.080 --> 00:11:33.679 bet and more like an economic thermometer. It's 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:36.120 signaling these deeper structural risks building 00:11:36.120 --> 00:11:38.740 up in the system, this repricing of gold, reaching 00:11:38.740 --> 00:11:42.919 $4 ,000. It reflects a collective institutional 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:45.419 rethinking of what actually constitutes a truly 00:11:45.419 --> 00:11:47.899 risk -free asset, especially in a world that 00:11:47.899 --> 00:11:50.240 is just swimming, drowning in sovereign debt. 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:53.320 Yeah, when global debt is over 250 % of GDP and 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:55.539 the world's reserve currency loses 10 % of its 00:11:55.539 --> 00:11:59.279 value in just six months, well, big money. Institutional 00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:01.299 investors, they don't really have a choice, do 00:12:01.299 --> 00:12:04.100 they? They have to react. The reports we analyzed 00:12:04.100 --> 00:12:06.299 certainly suggest a major portfolio shift is 00:12:06.299 --> 00:12:08.679 underway. They're dialing back exposure to government 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:11.799 bonds, other paper assets, and actively increasing 00:12:11.799 --> 00:12:16.120 their allocation to physical gold. the currency 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:18.820 devaluation concerns, the persistent geopolitical 00:12:18.820 --> 00:12:21.480 instability, A &D, that regulatory framework, 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:24.399 Basel III, which basically institutionalizes 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:27.100 the preference for physical assets. All of this 00:12:27.100 --> 00:12:29.879 suggests that the trend towards gold regaining 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:32.500 its role as a kind of monetary anchor. Well, 00:12:32.539 --> 00:12:34.179 it looks pretty enduring. Of course, there will 00:12:34.179 --> 00:12:36.379 be short -term price swings. Volatility is normal. 00:12:36.820 --> 00:12:38.940 But the underlying structural changes, I think 00:12:38.940 --> 00:12:40.980 they're here to stay. OK, so let's quickly recap 00:12:40.980 --> 00:12:43.429 the main takeaways from this deep dive. That 00:12:43.429 --> 00:12:45.570 four thousand dollar gold price isn't just one 00:12:45.570 --> 00:12:48.110 thing. It seems to be a symptom of really three 00:12:48.110 --> 00:12:50.629 powerful forces all converging and feeding off 00:12:50.629 --> 00:12:53.409 each other. First, eroding confidence in fiat 00:12:53.409 --> 00:12:56.309 currencies, especially the dollar. Second, unusually 00:12:56.309 --> 00:12:58.929 high and persistent geopolitical stress. And 00:12:58.929 --> 00:13:01.690 third, this regulatory push from Basel III, making 00:13:01.690 --> 00:13:04.230 physical gold a core functional asset for the 00:13:04.230 --> 00:13:07.049 entire banking system. Right. And this historic 00:13:07.049 --> 00:13:09.529 price point, it really underscores the need for 00:13:09.529 --> 00:13:12.700 education over just pure speculation. forces 00:13:12.700 --> 00:13:15.519 us all to ask some pretty fundamental questions. 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:17.700 Questions about the very nature of money and 00:13:17.700 --> 00:13:19.779 about the sustainability of our modern debt -based 00:13:19.779 --> 00:13:23.200 financial system. Exactly. When trust in government 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:25.639 -issued money and government debt starts to falter 00:13:25.639 --> 00:13:28.940 on a global scale, what then becomes the ultimate 00:13:28.940 --> 00:13:31.870 trustworthy store of value? What is it? This 00:13:31.870 --> 00:13:34.570 $4 ,000 marker really invites you to watch closely. 00:13:34.929 --> 00:13:36.950 Observe how central banks navigate this. What 00:13:36.950 --> 00:13:39.090 do they prioritize going forward? Will they focus 00:13:39.090 --> 00:13:41.190 on defending their currency's stability at all 00:13:41.190 --> 00:13:43.370 costs? Or will they continue to find ways to 00:13:43.370 --> 00:13:45.750 accommodate ever -growing debt levels? The answer 00:13:45.750 --> 00:13:47.649 to that question will likely tell us a lot about 00:13:47.649 --> 00:13:49.029 where the gold price heads next.