Almost every day, a new gold price forecast hits the wire — but what dropped Thursday from Ed Yardeni could make even the bulls blink.
Veteran Wall Street strategist Ed Yardeni declared that gold may be headed to $10,000 per ounce by the end of the decade or sooner, calling the metal "physical bitcoin" in a sharply worded note that questions the staying power of digital assets in an increasingly unstable world.
"Bitcoin has been described as ‘digital gold,' but we see gold as ‘physical bitcoin," Yardeni wrote.
The implication: while Bitcoin may still be popular among risk-tolerant investors, gold is emerging as the true go-to asset in a world now defined by de-dollarization, sanctions risk, and trade upheaval.
Chart: Bitcoin’s 2025 Gains Pale Compared To Gold
Gold Surging Past Targets — And Bitcoin Left Behind
So far in 2025, gold – as tracked by the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) – has soared more than 60%, marking its best year since 1979, while Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has gained just 20%, underperforming precious metals.
“The surging gold price has already exceeded our year-end target of $4,000 per ounce," Yardeni said in a note.
With metal trading well above that level, the expert now predicts $5,000 gold by 2026 and potentially $10,000 by 2030 or sooner, if current global trends continue.
His point? Gold is back in style — not just as an inflation hedge, but as a strategic shield in a world full of risks that go far beyond Consumer Price Index prints and Fed policy moves.
Why Is Everyone Rushing To Gold?
Yardeni's view is that gold has taken on a new role: a hedge not just against inflation, but against financial sanctions, monetary disorder and global power shifts.
"Perhaps gold is now a hedge against U.S. economic sanctions," Yardeni previously wrote. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the West froze almost $300 billion of Russia's foreign reserves.
That move sent a powerful signal to nations like China and India, which have since been ramping up gold purchases for their sovereign reserves.
De-Dollarization, Geopolitics Fuel Flows
The theme of de-dollarization is now being openly discussed on Wall Street, and Yardeni sees this as a tailwind for gold.
As tensions between the U.S. and China escalate — with President Donald Trump announcing new 100% tariffs on Chinese imports and adding export controls on critical tech — gold has once again beaten risk assets, including Bitcoin and stocks.
Yardeni added, "Trump's attempts to reorder the world's geopolitical order using America's relationships with its major trading partners as a lever… might be bullish for one major asset: gold."
He also warned that Trump's continued pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates would compromise its independence and could further boost gold demand from investors seeking safety.
Crypto Isn't the Safe Haven People Think
Yardeni also cast doubt on the theory that Bitcoin is a reliable store of value. While it has often been compared to gold, Yardeni argues that its behavior tells a different story.
"Gold is widely viewed as a hedge against risk, while [Bitcoin] has behaved mostly as a risk-on speculative vehicle," he wrote.
He highlighted Bitcoin's sharp sell-off last Friday after Trump's tariff escalation — a move that sent crypto tumbling while gold continued to rise.
GDX And REMX Surge On Metal Rush
Mining stocks on precious metals and rare earth have seen triple-digit gains thus far this year.
The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) is up 140% year-to-date, and the VanEck Rare Earth & Strategic Metals ETF (NYSE:REMX) has jumped 101% — both riding the wave of geopolitical friction and resource nationalism.
Yardeni highlighted the surge in trading volumes for both funds in recent weeks, saying these flows show how investors are "mining for safety" — not just in gold, but in the strategic materials seen as critical in the new Cold War between the U.S., China and Russia.
Bottom Line
Yardeni isn't alone in turning more bullish on gold, but his framing is particularly sharp: he sees the metal not as a relic of the past, but as a modern safe asset — one outperforming both crypto and stocks, and likely to become even more essential if global tensions escalate further.
With a target of $5,000 by 2026 and $10,000 by decade's end, gold may no longer be just "a hedge." It may be the new benchmark for safety in a world where financial systems are being redefined.
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Image via Shutterstock/ Lemonsoup14
