Matthew Piepenburg Says Gold Above $5,000 Signals a Breakdown in Global Trust

Gold has surged past $5,000 and silver is extending its move beyond $100, but Matthew Piepenburg says the real story is not metal prices. It is the accelerating breakdown of trust across global bond and currency markets.

Speaking with Kitco News at VRIC 2026 in Vancouver, Piepenburg, Partner at Von Greyerz, points to rising yields in Japan, the US, and Europe as a clear warning sign. “The bond market is the thing you have to understand,” he said. “Yields are the cost of debt.” When yields rise even as central banks step in, Piepenburg argues it shows sovereign IOUs are being repriced and the so-called risk-free asset has become “return-free risk.”

Piepenburg says gold’s move is not speculative excess, but the logical outcome of decades of debt expansion and deliberate currency debasement. “What should shock you is how bad fiat money has gotten,” he said. As governments rely on negative real rates to manage debt, Piepenburg argues gold is being repositioned by central banks as a neutral settlement asset in global trade, not something you spend, but something you trust when paper systems falter.

Recorded January 25, 2026.

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00:13 – Market Volatility, Rising Yields, and Central Bank Stress
01:12 – Japanese Yen Surge and Global Bond Market Dysfunction
03:48 – Trust Breakdown in Sovereign Debt and Fiat Currencies
06:53 – Debt, Politics, and the Limits of Monetary Policy
13:30 – Gold as a Global Settlement and Collateral Asset
16:17 – The US Dollar’s Role in Global Trade and Reserve Systems
18:15 – COMEX, Paper Markets, and Physical Supply Constraints
19:31 – Gold and Silver Price Moves as Warning Signals
21:03 – Historical Parallels in Currency and Debt Crises
23:32 – East vs West Markets and Global Price Discovery
28:15 – Measuring Trust in Modern Financial Systems
32:21 – Wealth Preservation vs Speculation in Volatile Markets
34:28 – Final Thoughts on Gold, Trust, and Systemic Risk

#Gold #Silver #PreciousMetals #BondMarket #CurrencyCrisis #CentralBanks #DebtCrisis #GoldAsMoney #KitcoNews
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