The anniversary of the dollar's separation from gold is approaching.

　　1971 Year 8 Moon 15 On that day, U.S. President Nixon announced the implementation of a new economic policy: foreign central banks would no longer be able to exchange U.S. dollars for gold in the United States, and additional tariffs would be imposed. 10% the import surcharge. From then on, per ounce 35 The official gold price of the U.S. dollar came to a complete end, decoupling gold from the dollar. As a result, gold prices entered a period of free floating, marking the collapse of the cornerstone of the Bretton Woods international monetary system and signaling the disintegration of the Bretton Woods system itself.

　　The collapse of the Bretton Woods system marked a watershed in the breakdown of the old monetary order and the establishment of a new one. It was from this point that the International Monetary Fund began to initiate deliberations on reforming the international monetary system. After several years of work, 1976 Year 1 Moon 8 Day, the International Monetary Fund together with 20 Representatives from various countries convened in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, and adopted the “Jamaica Agreement,” which set the direction for reform toward the non-monetary status of gold.

　　The framework of the modern international monetary system established by the Jamaica Agreement has remained in use to this day. Gold is no longer the standard for determining currency parities; official gold prices have been abolished, and gold is now traded at floating market rates. The Special Drawing Right (SDR) has replaced gold as the medium of exchange for certain payments among member countries and between member countries and the International Monetary Fund. The Jamaica Agreement laid down three key features of the modern international monetary system: floating exchange rates, the demonetization of gold, and the replacement of gold with the SDR as an international reserve asset.

　　The gold non-monetary reform significantly weakened gold’s monetary function and ushered in an era in which central banks worldwide began holding reserve currencies—U.S. dollars, euros, and British pounds. The supply-and-demand structure of gold underwent a major shift: global central banks ceased being the primary buyers of gold and instead became pure sellers. As a result, the nature of gold demand shifted from predominantly official monetary demand to predominantly private, commodity-driven demand. The continuously declining prices turned gold into a hot potato, prompting massive sell-offs by major central banks around the globe.

　　However, gold’s intrinsic value will not be suppressed or obliterated by artificial means. Under the modern financial system, gold continues to possess distinct monetary attributes. In its “China Financial Stability Report,” the People’s Bank of China once pointed out that although the role of gold as a store of value has weakened since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, fluctuations in gold prices still serve as an important reference for central banks around the world in assessing inflation levels. Moreover, central banks worldwide continue to hold substantial quantities of gold as part of their national reserves. Together with foreign exchange reserves and quotas held at the International Monetary Fund, gold reserves constitute a country’s international reserves, collectively fulfilling the function of safeguarding against risks.

　　Historical development has shown that the more critical the moment of crisis, the more gold serves as a safe haven for assets. When the European debt crisis struck, countries facing financial difficulties did not sell off their gold reserves to repay debts; instead, they clung tightly to their gold holdings, using them to back their currencies. At a time when an increasing number of central banks are joining the “negative interest rate club,” global currencies are severely overissued and credit bubbles have reached unprecedented levels. No currency can truly provide safe-haven protection anymore—only gold can genuinely serve this purpose. The escalating inherent contradictions within the modern financial system are making market-driven reforms of the monetary system increasingly urgent, and the role of gold as an anchor for currency is receiving ever greater attention. This has also led, in a new era marked by frequent global economic and financial crises, to gold overwhelmingly outperforming stocks, bonds, and even commodities like oil, becoming the... 30 The asset with the best performance in recent years.

　　Decoupling the U.S. dollar from gold 45 As the anniversary approached, the United Kingdom also announced its departure from the European Union. The model of economic integration has come under scrutiny, sending global markets into a state of panic and further highlighting the value of gold as a monetary anchor. 6 Moon 24 On the day of the UK's Brexit referendum, the spot price of gold internationally fell from... 1258 U.S. dollar / The ounce surged all the way up to 1358.59 U.S. dollar / Ounce, with the largest increase reaching 8% A renewed recognition and reevaluation of gold’s status and value have become a market consensus, leading once again to the expectation that “gold prices will rise to $ per ounce.” 1 “Tens of thousands of dollars,” “A golden, epic bull market is coming”—such wildly optimistic predictions, even... 90 Even Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, made a startling remark, stating that it’s time to return to the gold standard.

　　Whether gold will return to the gold standard remains a topic of debate. However, calls for reforming the international monetary system are growing louder, and it’s no longer in doubt that gold will play an even more important role in the restructuring of the new global monetary system. Can the reform of the international monetary system bring about a revival of gold? Those who remain skeptical about whether gold can enter a new bull market might do well to ask themselves, in Gresham’s own words: “Why are central banks around the world so eager to hold gold now?”