Here is the English translation of the text, with the specified terms retained and not translated: As the market value of gold has reached a new high of $20 trillion, market funds are flowing into this safe-haven asset at an unprecedented pace. Given the soaring US fiscal deficit and the heightened risk of economic recession, global confidence in US Treasuries seems to have been significantly shaken, indicating that the capital market is reassessing the direction of asset allocation. (Ray Dalio Warns of US Debt Crisis: The Global Economy May Face a "Shocking" Change)

Gold Surges Strongly, Market Funds Flow in Accelerated

Financial media Kobeissi Letter points out that as the S&P 500 has lost more than $5 trillion in market value this year, the total market value of gold officially broke through $20 trillion, reaching a historic high. Over the past 12 months, gold has risen more than four times faster than the S&P 500, and even in the early 2025 when the stock market was underperforming, it still rose against the trend by more than 10%. Is this the strongest performance in the history of gold?

More notably, this round of gold's rise has not followed the traditional economic logic: "It strengthens when the US dollar weakens and interest rates are cut," but rather it has continued to rise even in the context of high interest rates, a strong US dollar, and a resilient stock market.

BTC Concept Stocks Plummet, Far Behind Gold and S&P 500

In contrast to gold's strong performance, the performance of the world's top ten listed companies holding BTC this year has lagged far behind the S&P 500, and of course, also worse than gold.

• Aker ASA, a Norwegian industrial investment company, is the best-performing BTC-holding company, but has already given back its gains for the year.
• Investment management firm Galaxy Digital has performed the worst, lagging the S&P 500 by 25% and falling 43% compared to gold.
• Even the new face of Japan's MetaPlanet has not been able to outperform gold, lagging it by 7% so far this year.

Asset management firm Bitwise recently launched an ETF that invests specifically in the world's top ten listed companies holding BTC, such as MicroStrategy (now renamed Strategy), Marathon Holding (MARA), CleanSpark (CLSK), Riot Platforms (RIOT), etc.

(Bitwise Files for "BTC Standard Corporations ETF", Micro Strategy, Miners, and Gamers Can Be Included)

However, these companies have generally been in a slump in 2025, unable to sustain their previous strong performance, which also raises questions about the effectiveness of this strategy.

US and Asia Demand Surges, Gold Becomes the Global Hedge of Choice

At the same time, US demand for physical gold has hit a new high, with gold imports reaching $30.4 billion in January, more than double the pandemic peak in 2020. China and India's gold reserves have also hit new highs, reaching $73.5 billion and $70.9 billion respectively, with global gold demand up 24% year-on-year, totaling over $382 billion.

As trade war risks escalate, gold demand has further increased, and according to a Bank of America (BofA) fund manager survey, as many as 58% of respondents believe that gold will become the best hedge, even better than the US dollar.

US Debt "Risk" Rises, Investors Turn to Gold

Currently, the US government's fiscal deficit has further deteriorated, with annual spending reaching 44% of GDP, on par with the World War II era, also fueling market concerns about the risk of US debt. Now, investors' demand for hedging against US Treasuries has decreased, and some funds have flowed into gold, further driving up its price.

Google search data also shows that US concerns about an economic recession have risen to the highs seen during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 pandemic. The US stock market has also seen capital outflows, with Bank of America data showing $1.1 billion in US stock outflows last week, while gold rose 3% over the same period.

(The US Economic Outlook is Clouded: Q1 GDP Forecast Revised Down to -2.8%, Recession Concerns Arise)

The gold market has become a key barometer of the market

Large amounts of capital are flowing into the gold market, indicating that investors are reassessing their choice of safe-haven assets. As the safety of US Treasuries declines, the risk of economic recession rises, and concerns about the trade war intensify, gold appears to be gradually usurping or even replacing US Treasuries as the safe-haven market for global investors.

The strong performance of the gold market has now become a key indicator of the global financial market.