What is The Price of Gold Saying?

Could it be inflation?

Is it the bull market?

Will gold be an essential tool in the upgrade cycle of tech, data centers, and connectivity? Or something else? Before I get to my deep thoughts on this in a future post, let me first share some incredible facts about gold as it continues its market to all-time highs (see the chart below.)

1. Comparison to Cryptocurrencies: Gold’s market cap surpasses the combined value of all cryptocurrencies, which is around $1 trillion.
2. Market Capitalization: Gold’s total market cap exceeds $13 trillion, making it one of the most valuable asset classes globally.
3. Above-Ground Gold: There are approximately 201,296 tonnes of above-ground gold in the world as of 2024.
4. Annual Production: Global gold mine production averages about 3,000 tonnes per year.
5. Comparison to Tech Giants: Gold’s market cap exceeds the combined market cap of Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon.
6. Deepest Gold Mine: The deepest gold mine in the world is the Mponeng mine in South Africa, extending 4 kilometers below the Earth’s surface.
7. Gold in Seawater: It’s estimated that the world’s oceans hold about 20 million tons of gold, but in such low concentrations that extraction is currently not economically viable.
8. Gold in Space: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope uses about 48.25 grams of gold, valued at approximately $3,700 (at $2,342/oz), due to gold’s excellent infrared reflectivity.
9. Central Bank Holdings: Central banks worldwide hold nearly 35,000 metric tons of gold in their reserves, including the U.S., China, and Russia.
10. Gold as a Safe Haven: During the 2008 financial crisis, gold outperformed most major asset classes, reaffirming its role as a safe haven.

While equity markets and cryptocurrencies often dominate financial news, the recent movements in the gold market deserve attention. Gold can be tracked through ETFs like $GLD, mining ETFs like $GDX, or individual stocks such as $WPM, $NEM, or $KGC. More on this later.

For now, I hope some of you find this interesting.

Written by Stefan Cheplick, a fintech builder and writer with experience at Stocktwits and TradingView. Background and published work.