Gold-Backed Tokens Outperform as ‘Bond King’ Gundlach Sees Precious Metal Hitting $4,000

Gold has been on a strong run, surpassing $3,000 for the first time last week, and now there are calls for even more upside for the precious metal prices.

Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital and colloquially known as the "Bond King" for his expertise in fixed-income markets, believes the rally is far from over and could see the precious metal top $4,000.

Speaking during a macroeconomic outlook presentation titled “Not in My Neighborhood,” Gundlach highlighted gold’s sustained price momentum alongside other commodities. Cryptocurrencies backed by the precious metal, including PAXG and XAUT, have been benefiting from its historic price rise.

“I think gold will make it to $4,000. I’m not sure that’ll happen this year, but I feel like that’s the measured move anticipated by the long consolidation at around $1,800 on gold,” Gundlach said.

Gold-backed cryptocurrencies have been outperforming the wider cryptocurrency market so far this year. While PAXG and XAUT are up roughly 14% year-to-date, bitcoin dropped 11.4% over the same period, and the broader CoinDesk20 Index retreated by over 25% in the same period. Gold ETFs last week have surpassed bitcoin ETFs in assets under management.

His prediction is rooted in shifting central bank strategies. Global central banks have been increasing their gold reserves, reversing a period in which their holdings were dwindling. The total amount of gold held globally, according to IMF data Gundlach presented, has climbed from a low of around 34 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDR) in 2010 to 40.9 billion SDR, reaching levels last seen between 1975 and 1980.

Special Drawing Rights are an international reserve asset the IMF created back in 1969, defined through a basket of currencies.