Inside Jim Rickards’ Case for Gold as Governments Rewrite the Rules

Appearing on The Julia La Roche Show, Jim Rickards—an economist, lawyer, and longtime market watcher—argued that gold’s steady climb reflects structural demand from central banks and governments responding to sanctions risk, debt dynamics, and shifting confidence in sovereign assets.

The move, he said, is not a fleeting trade but a calculated reallocation unfolding in plain sight. Rickards pushed back hard on what he called a popular Wall Street storyline linking gold’s rise to runaway monetary debasement. “This debasement trade is nonsense,” he stressed, dismissing claims that foreign governments are dumping U.S. Treasurys en masse.

Treasury ownership data, Rickards noted, shows stability rather than mass liquidation, undercutting the idea that gold is merely a reaction to collapsing faith in the dollar. Instead, Rickards pointed to a more methodical driver: central banks flipping from decades of net selling gold to persistent net buying.

Since around 2010, official institutions—particularly outside the Western alliance—have been steadily accumulating bullion while global mine supply remains largely flat. Basic economics applies, he said: when demand rises, and supply does not, prices adjust upward.

Jim Rickards (pictured above) believes gold can reach $10,000 an ounce.

The twist is that central banks buy patiently, often stepping in on dips, creating what Rickards described as an informal price floor. Geopolitics has only reinforced that trend. Rickards highlighted the freezing of Russian reserve assets following the invasion of Ukraine as a watershed moment.

By immobilizing sovereign reserves held abroad, Western governments sent a signal that reserve assets can be politicized. The response, Rickards argued, has been predictable: countries increasingly favor gold, which cannot be frozen with a keystroke. The irony, he noted, is that Russia’s gold holdings have appreciated more than the value of the assets that were seized.

Rickards also rejected the idea that gold thrives only in inflationary environments. Historically, he said, gold has performed well during deflationary stress as investors seek assets without counterparty risk. During the Great Depression, gold prices rose sharply even as consumer prices fell—a reminder that gold’s role is monetary, not cyclical.

Gold’s March to $10K and Bitcoin Residing Inside a Different System

Looking ahead, Rickards argued that the long-term trajectory remains intact despite short-term volatility. “ Gold is going to go well, I can easily see it going to $10,000,” he said, framing the move as a reflection of currency devaluation rather than speculative excess.

While Rickards touched on the Trump administration’s economic strategy and its emphasis on growth, energy output, and fiscal ratios, he stressed that gold’s appeal does not hinge on daily politics—or on bitcoin’s price action. Bitcoin, he said, occupies a separate lane, while gold remains the reserve asset of choice for institutions seeking durability rather than disruption.

Also read: Dormant Bitcoin Wallets Show Continued Activity Despite Sub–Six-Figure Prices

Rickards was careful to separate bitcoin from gold, treating it less as a reserve asset and more as a parallel financial system with very different mechanics. He argued that much of bitcoin’s liquidity is routed through stablecoins rather than direct dollar flows, a structure he views as fragile and opaque, particularly when those stablecoins rely heavily on Treasury bills as backing.

In Rickards’ framework, bitcoin functions as a speculative and transactional asset within the crypto economy, while gold remains the preferred choice for central banks and sovereign actors seeking permanence, neutrality, and insulation from political risk. He did not frame bitcoin as a replacement for gold, but as a distinct instrument operating on a different risk curve, driven by market plumbing rather than monetary history.

FAQ 🕰️

• Why is gold rising now?
  Central banks are buying steadily while supply remains flat, lifting prices over time.
• Is gold moving because of inflation fears?
  Rickards argues gold performs well in both inflation and deflation cycles.
• Are countries abandoning U.S. Treasurys?
  No—Rickards says data shows stable ownership, not mass selling.
• How does bitcoin fit into this trend?
  Rickards treats bitcoin as distinct from gold, serving a different role in portfolios.

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