The gold price trend at the beginning of 2026 is already hard to describe with the traditional term "bull market." On January 13, London spot gold reached a record high of $4,636 per ounce—this is not a hype about a certain mining stock, nor just a ETF bubble; it’s more like a health check of the global financial order: fiat currencies are experiencing systemic devaluation, and gold is being forced back to its rightful position—the true "endgame asset."

Why is $4,500 actually not a "high"? Because it’s more like a coordinate system marker, indicating the trajectory of the continuous erosion of fiat currency purchasing power. Behind this are hidden factors such as sovereign debt accumulation, weaponization of sanctions, global reserve asset reconfiguration, plus the layered pricing of the rise of on-chain finance. Gold hasn't become more valuable; it’s just that the fiat-based monetary system supported by credit is losing its credibility.

Looking at the numbers makes it clear—since Nixon announced the decoupling of the dollar from gold in 1971, the dollar’s purchasing power relative to gold has evaporated by nearly 98%. The so-called "all-time high" is actually the most straightforward price label on this declining monetary order.

This discussion isn’t about short-term trading strategies or target price predictions. A more interesting question is: in an era where gold is re-emerging as "hard currency," how are investors, institutions, and sovereign nations repositioning and strategizing?