Golden 50-Year Bull Market Revelation | After the All-Time High, Are There Still Investment Opportunities?

Why Did Gold Reach a Historic High in 2025?

Gold has played a key role in the economy since ancient times. Its high density, ductility, and excellent preservation qualities make it not only a currency but also an ideal material for jewelry and industrial products.

Over the past 50 years, gold prices have experienced multiple cycles of rise and fall, but the overall trend has been clearly upward—2025 has seen consecutive new all-time highs. Will this multi-decade bull market repeat itself in the next 50 years? How should we analyze gold prices? Is it suitable for long-term holding or for swing trading? These questions merit in-depth discussion.

50 Years of 120x Growth: The Evolution of Gold’s All-Time Highs

The Breakpoint of the Bretton Woods System Collapse

August 15, 1971, marks a watershed moment in gold history. U.S. President Nixon announced the suspension of the dollar’s convertibility into gold, freeing the dollar from the gold standard, and signaling the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. Under this old system, 1 ounce of gold was fixed at $35, with the dollar essentially serving as a certificate of gold exchange.

After the system’s collapse, gold prices rose from $35 per ounce to $3,700 in the first half of 2025, and in October, even briefly surpassed $4,300 per ounce. From 1971 to now, gold has increased over 120 times—a figure that underscores its investment value.

In 2024 alone, gold prices surged by over 104%, prompting central banks and investment institutions worldwide to raise their target prices for next year, reflecting strong market recognition of the metal’s hedging function.

Deep Review of Four Major Bullish Cycles

First Wave (1970-1975): Trust Crisis After Decoupling

After the dollar broke free from gold, it soared from $35 to $183, a gain of over 400%, over five years. Public confidence in the dollar waned, with many preferring to hold gold rather than paper currency. Subsequently, the oil crisis erupted, and the U.S. increased money supply to buy oil, fueling a second wave of price increases. Once the crisis eased and the dollar’s credibility was restored, gold retreated to around $100.

Second Wave (1976-1980): Geopolitical Turmoil Boosts Gold Prices

Gold broke through $104 to reach $850, a rise of over 700% in about three years. Events like the second Middle East oil crisis, the Iran hostage crisis, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan triggered a global economic downturn, with inflation soaring in the West, causing gold to surge. However, this rapid increase was unsustainable; after the crises subsided and the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, gold prices quickly fell back, fluctuating mostly between $200 and $300 for the next 20 years.

Third Wave (2001-2011): Anti-Terror Wars and Financial Crisis

From $260 to $1921, an increase of over 700%, over ten years. The “9/11 attacks” sparked a global anti-terror wave, and the U.S. government cut interest rates and issued debt to fund military expenses, boosting housing prices, which in turn led to the 2008 financial crisis. To rescue the economy, the Federal Reserve implemented quantitative easing, propelling gold prices upward. During the European debt crisis in 2011, gold peaked at $1921/oz. Later, due to EU interventions, prices stabilized around $1000.

Fourth Wave (2015-present): Multiple Factors Driving Historic Highs

Policies like negative interest rates in Japan and Europe, global de-dollarization trends, the Fed’s renewed QE in 2020, the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, and the Israel-Palestine conflict and Red Sea crises in 2023 have kept gold above $2000.

Between 2024 and 2025, gold entered an epic bull run. Risks from U.S. economic policies, central bank reserve accumulation, and worsening geopolitical tensions drove prices from $2,690 at the start of the year to over $4,200 in October, a gain of over 56%, setting new all-time highs.

Gold vs Stocks vs Bonds: Who Is the Best Investment?

Tracing back to 1971, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose from 900 points to around 46,000, a gain of about 51 times. Over 50 years, the 120x return of gold actually outperforms.

But the key point is—gold’s gains are not smooth. Between 1980 and 2000, gold hovered between $200 and $300. Investors who bought during this period saw almost no returns. How many 50-year spans do we have in life to wait?

The Different Return Logic of Three Asset Classes

• Gold: Returns come from price differences, no interest, success depends on timing
• Bonds: Returns from interest payments, require continuous increase in holdings, and depend on central bank policies
• Stocks: Returns from corporate growth, focus on long-term holding and stock selection ability

In terms of difficulty: bonds are easiest, gold is next, stocks are hardest. But over the past 30 years, stocks have performed the best, followed by gold, with bonds lagging.

Asset Allocation Strategies in Economic Cycles

The basic rule for gold and stocks is: Invest in stocks during economic growth, and in gold during recessions.

When the economy is good, corporate profits rise, stocks perform well, and bonds and gold tend to underperform. During economic downturns, corporate profits decline, and gold’s hedging property along with bonds’ fixed income become safe havens.

The most prudent approach is to allocate assets like stocks, bonds, and gold based on individual risk tolerance and investment goals. Unexpected events like the Russia-Ukraine war and inflation hikes can occur at any time, and diversified asset allocation can effectively hedge against single-asset risks.

Full Analysis of Five Gold Investment Methods

1. Physical Gold

Buying gold bars and other tangible gold. Advantages include asset concealment, hedging, and jewelry use; disadvantages are inconvenience in trading and poor liquidity.

2. Gold Savings Account

Similar to traditional dollar savings accounts, serving as a gold custody certificate. After buying or selling gold, the account balance updates accordingly, and physical gold can be withdrawn at any time. Advantages include portability; disadvantages are no interest, large bid-ask spreads, and suitability mainly for long-term holding.

3. Gold ETFs

More liquid than savings accounts. After purchase, you hold a corresponding amount of gold ounces, with the issuer charging management fees. When prices are stable, its value may slowly depreciate.

4. Gold Futures and Contracts for Difference (CFD)

The most common tools for retail investors. Advantages include leverage to amplify gains and the ability to trade both long and short. Compared to futures, CFDs are more flexible and offer higher capital efficiency.

Margin trading results in very low trading costs. For short-term swing traders, futures or CFDs are more suitable. CFD trading is flexible in timing, and small capital can open accounts, especially friendly to small investors and retail traders.

Gold CFDs typically offer high leverage (up to 1:100), with minimum lots as low as 0.01, and deposit requirements as low as dozens of dollars. T+0 trading allows entry and exit at any time, with real-time charts, economic calendars, stop-loss and take-profit tools, and more. It also supports local currency deposits/withdrawals and local language customer service.

5. Gold-Related Stocks and Funds

Indirect investment through gold mining companies or diversified funds, spreading risk but with relatively moderate returns.

After Reaching a Historic High, Are There Still Investment Opportunities in Gold?

Gold is a high-quality investment tool, but best suited for swing trading rather than purely long-term holding. Its upward cycle involves: bull market → sharp decline → stabilization → restart of the bull. Capturing the bull or the sharp drop often yields returns that surpass bonds and stocks.

Since gold is a natural resource, extraction costs and difficulty increase over time. Even after a bull market ends, prices at lows tend to gradually rise and will not fall to zero. Investors need to understand this pattern to avoid blind operations.

In the face of rapidly changing markets, sudden political and economic events can instantly alter gold price trends. Building a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, and gold can effectively hedge volatility risks and make your asset allocation more resilient.

Summary: Although gold’s all-time high has been reached, cyclical fluctuations still present swing trading opportunities. The key is to understand its rise and fall logic, adapt strategies flexibly within economic cycles, and maintain balanced allocation across different asset classes.