Alasdair Macleod: China Ends Retail Paper Gold & Opens the Floodgates

Alasdair Macleod: China Ends Retail Paper Gold & Opens the Floodgates

Mining Network:  7-23-2026

Alasdair Macleod, economist and leading voice on sound money, returns to Mining Network to break down China’s rapidly accelerating gold strategy and what it means for Western paper markets, the dollar, and global monetary order.

 Earlier this month Hong Kong launched its new gold central clearing and settlement system.

This week several major Chinese banks (including ICBC) will end retail paper gold trading on the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

At the same time, Beijing is easing long-standing restrictions on gold exports between the mainland and Hong Kong.

Macleod argues these moves are not isolated — they form part of a deliberate, decades-long plan to secure the yuan against the eventual failure of the Western fiat system.

0:00 – Introduction

0:15 – Hong Kong gold settlement system & Chinese banks ending retail paper gold

2:20 – China’s long-term gold accumulation strategy

8:14 – New gold vaults, yuan convertibility & replacing Western paper markets

14:03 – China, Japan and the problem of US Treasury demand

19:37 – Commodity stockpiling and dollar dumping

21:16 – Sponsor: Copper Giant (Mocoa project)

22:50 – Timeline for the collapse of Western paper gold markets

26:45 – The history of central bank gold leasing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4eddQbZtsY

Insiders Are Betting Millions On Gold Reset By Year-End | Ed Steer

Insiders Are Betting Millions On Gold Reset By Year-End | Ed Steer

Liberty and Finance:  7-22-2026

Why are traders pouring millions into gold call options as high as $20,000? Precious metals analyst Ed Steer explains why he believes unprecedented positioning in the futures and options markets points to a potential historic shift in gold and silver pricing.

He also discusses unusual Commitment of Traders data, the role of commercial traders, and why he sees the balance of power gradually moving from Western paper markets toward Asia.

Along the way, Steer shares his interpretation of recent developments involving Chinese gold trading and what they could mean for the precious metals market.

Whether or not these forecasts come to pass, this interview explores the market signals and arguments that have many investors watching gold and silver more closely than ever.

INTERVIEW TIMELINE:

0:00 Intro

1:20 $20,000 gold call options

10:00 Short-squeeze

18:30 Gold & silver manipulation

23:25 Shanghai gold exchange

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMfnuGgHNGQ

China Shuts Down Paper Gold in 24 Hours

China Shuts Down Paper Gold in 24 Hours

Taylor Kenny:  7-23-2026

China is shutting down retail paper gold trading at several major banks—and forcing investors to close positions or take physical delivery.

Is this the beginning of a major shift from paper pricing to real metal?

CHAPTERS:

0:00 China’s Paper Gold Shutdown Begins

0:35 Why Paper Markets Control Gold and Silver Prices

1:27 How Rehypothecation Creates Multiple Claims on One Asset

2:21 Bank Spoofing and Precious Metals Price Manipulation

3:15 Why China Is Ending Retail Paper Gold Trading

3:43 China’s Bigger Physical Gold Strategy

4:41 Could Price Discovery Shift From Paper to Physical?

5:40 Physical Gold, Counterparty Risk, and Wealth Protection

6:38 East vs. West: Two Different Views of Gold

7:35 What This Means for Gold and Silver Investors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6IdjRqS6tc&t=2s

Silver’s Next Industrial Boom Could Send Prices to $400 | Aaron Hoddinott & Andy Schectman

Silver’s Next Industrial Boom Could Send Prices to $400 | Aaron Hoddinott & Andy Schectman

Miles Franklin Media:  7-18-2026

Andy Schectman, Founder & CEO of Miles Franklin Precious Metals, sits down with Aaron Hoddinott, Founder & President of Pinnacle Digest, to discuss why he believes the global monetary system is already shifting, why central banks continue accumulating gold, and why silver may be one of the most compelling long-term investment opportunities.

Hoddinott explains why he sees the emergence of a parallel monetary system centered around gold, how de-dollarization is reshaping global finance, and why governments may ultimately choose inflation and a weaker dollar as the path out of mounting debt.

He also shares why he's been buying physical silver, arguing that growing industrial demand and constrained supply could drive significantly higher prices over the next decade.

The conversation also explores artificial intelligence, reindustrialization, demographics, and productivity, examining how these macro trends could influence inflation, interest rates, and the future of gold and silver in an increasingly uncertain economic landscape.

In this episode of Little by Little:

Why Aaron believes a parallel monetary system is already emerging

Central bank gold buying and the future of the U.S. dollar

Why inflation may remain the only path out of the debt crisis

Aaron's long-term investment thesis for physical silver

How AI, reindustrialization, and demographics could reshape the global economy

00:00 Coming Up

01:24 Introduction

03:12 Guest Origin Story

06:27 IBM AI Reality Check

08:31 Leverage Bubble Warning

13:06 Global Monetary Shift

14:38 Parallel Gold Standard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA8b_fiD3Xo

US Dollar used to be Backed by Silver, US has Largest Gold Stockpile in the World

US Dollar used to be Backed by Silver, US has Largest Gold Stockpile in the World

And We Know :  7-18-2026

The global financial landscape is currently undergoing a structural transformation, defined by shifting monetary policies and a fundamental rethinking of how nations store value.

Recent insights into central banking strategies suggest that we are moving away from a single-currency dominance toward a more complex, collateralized framework. By examining the roles of interest rates, precious metals, and emerging digital payment rails, investors can better understand the forces shaping the economy through 2027 and beyond.

The Federal Reserve is signaling a “regime change” in its approach to monetary policy, primarily aimed at neutralizing inflation. Often characterized as a hidden tax on citizens, inflation has forced central banks into a difficult balancing act.

To maintain currency competitiveness in a strained global economy, major nations are engaging in synchronized interest rate hikes. While this is intended to stabilize the dollar, it creates significant headwinds for traditional asset classes, particularly bonds and equities. Experts anticipate a period of heightened market volatility as the global debt situation continues to pressure existing financial structures.

Historically, conventional economic theory suggested that high interest rates were detrimental to gold and silver due to their lack of yield. However, a counterintuitive shift is occurring: precious metals are increasingly viewed as essential “flight-to-quality” assets.

As central banks face mounting monetary volatility, they are aggressively transitioning toward gold as a tier-one reserve asset. This institutional adoption highlights a move toward tangible collateral, providing a safety net in an era where paper currency credibility is being questioned.

Technological advancements are acting as the catalyst for this monetary evolution. Specifically, initiatives like Project Mbridge—backed by the Bank for International Settlements and various international coalitions—are changing how global settlements occur.

By enabling settlements in multiple currencies and assets, including gold and silver, these digital platforms are providing viable alternatives to the current dollar-centric system. This diversification suggests that we are witnessing the beginning of a “de-dollarization” trend, which may ultimately pave the way for gold-backed digital currencies to become the standard for international trade.

For the individual investor, these developments necessitate a more cautious and strategic approach to portfolio management. Because market volatility is expected to persist through 2027, relying solely on traditional market performance may no longer be sufficient.

Financial experts emphasize the importance of diversifying into precious metals to hedge against debt-related systemic risks. While equities remain a component of a balanced portfolio, investors are being encouraged to exercise restraint and look for opportunities to buy during significant market dips rather than chasing short-term rallies.

As the global economy moves toward a hybrid system of blockchain-enabled settlements and gold-backed reserves, understanding the “why” behind these shifts is essential. By staying informed, you can navigate the unpredictability of the coming years with confidence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-USVVnDAjtA  

‍Reset Intelligence: Follow the Gold

‍Reset Intelligence: Follow the Gold

7-16-2026

Follow the Gold

By Reset Intelligence | @EXIT_FIAT

Scott Bessent went on Fox this week and put a number on the American gold. Over $1 trillion, present and accounted for, the largest pile held by any nation on earth. Then he said he has no plans to open the vault and check.

The Treasury’s own books still value that same gold at $11 billion. The gap between those two numbers is the story, and this week it stopped being quiet.

The Vault Gets a Number

On July 14 the Treasury Secretary told Fox the gold is present and accounted for and worth more than $1 trillion at current market value. Fort Knox holds 147,341,858 fine troy ounces, about 56% of the federal bullion. The rest sits at Denver, West Point and in the vault under the Fed in Manhattan. The last full physical audit was in 1953. Sceptics asked him to open the doors. He declined.

By law the Treasury still carries that same gold at $42.22 an ounce, a price Congress set in 1973 and never touched. That values the whole national pile near $11 billion. Bessent announced no revaluation. He read the market number out loud and left it there.

The Rails Get a Deadline

Kevin Warsh runs the Fed now. The GENIUS Act put dollar stablecoins under federal control, and the Fed has to publish the rulebook by Saturday. The CLARITY Act reached the House this week. The DTCC is moving $114 trillion of securities onto digital rails. What was background a month ago now runs on a calendar.

What Iraq Carries to the Door

• The delegation – Iraq’s partial government spent this week in Washington asking to be let back inside the dollar system.

• The blueprint – On Wednesday al-Zaidi sat down with World Bank president Ajay Banga and IFC head Makhtar Diop. They did not come with a cheque. They came with a plan: program-based budgets, a restructured banking sector, and a merger of state lenders into a single holding company.

• The lock – Parliament seated 14 of his 23 ministers in May and stalled on the other 9, interior and defence among them. No complete cabinet, no budget. The dinar holds at 1,300 because that number lives in the budget and nowhere else.

• The cash window – The central bank suspended a 2023 circular and let banks pay dollar deposits in cash again from July 15. Iraq was grey-listed by the Financial Action Task Force on June 19.

• The deposits – Iraqi bank deposits fell from about $70.9 billion at the end of last year to $66.8 billion by April, with private savings leading the way down.

The Same Play in Caracas

Venezuela is further down the same road. Its oil money routes into accounts the US Treasury holds, and the State Department decides what flows back to Caracas. Roughly $8 billion of oil revenue in the first 4 months of this year. About $300 million of it actually reached Venezuela. The gold is moving through the same accounts.

A government counts its gold right before it intends to use it. The count is done.

This Is the Short Version

Those are the moves, and they are all on the public record. The daily briefing is where we connect them: what a vault count actually signals, the precedent for this exact play and how it ended last time, and what it means for anyone holding dinar. That runs every weekday.

Read the full daily briefing free for 5 days. Sign up here: resetintelligence.com

The Documentation

Reset Intelligence published the source-level documentation behind the briefings in Head of the Snake. The full 19,500-word documented case. Every claim sourced – Treasury actions, OFAC press releases, parliament records, central bank statements.

25% off all formats with code 25XOFF at checkout: resetintelligence.com/head-of-the-snake

https://dinarchronicles.com/2026/07/16/reset-intelligence-follow-the-gold/

Why Central Banks Love a Gold Sell-Off

 Why Central Banks Love a Gold Sell-Off

Notes From the Field By James Hickman (Simon Black / Sovereign Man) July 14, 2026

On July 7, Bloomberg published  an article with the headline: "Gold's Bull Market Has Ended and Now All Eyes Are on Bears," explaining how many retail investors have headed for the exits.

That same day, the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, reported its largest monthly gold purchase since 2023.

Of course, June marked its twentieth consecutive month of adding gold to its reserves. Central banks are relatively price insensitive. They buy gold as a long term hedge to preserve value, not to trade back for more paper.

But they aren’t stupid either, and this shows they are buying the dip.

Gold peaked at $5,589 per ounce on January 28 and trades around $4,000 today, roughly 28% below the high. The second quarter was gold's worst since 2013. Investors have pulled about $18 billion out of gold ETFs since the peak, much of it late money that piled in during last year's frenzy and bolted the moment momentum broke.

But the price is not the story. The story is what central banks are doing.

Central banks have been the dominant force in gold since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the US froze $300 billion of Russia's central bank reserves, and every finance ministry on earth learned that dollar assets were not the safe havens they’d believed.

In 2024, central banks bought 1,090 tons of gold, close to an all-time record.

That massive demand made gold expensive. The price nearly doubled from its 2025 low, and central bank buying slowed to 863 tons. That was still higher than historical averages, but down 21% from the year before.

The slowdown was not fading interest; it was price discipline. Central banks are not traders chasing momentum. They are savers accumulating a reserve asset, and like any sensible saver, they buy less when the thing they are saving in gets expensive.

And they speed back up when it goes on sale. In the first quarter of this year central banks bought 244 tons, more than the previous quarter and above the five-year average. China alone has added about 40 tons in the first six months of 2026, compared to just 27 tons in all of 2025. The People's Bank of China bought more gold last month, with the price down nearly 30% from its high, than in any single month of the entire run-up.

The Reason Is Simple: Nothing Has Changed About Why They Buy

The World Gold Council, the industry group that tracks official gold demand, surveyed 76 central banks this year. Seventy-four percent said they expect the dollar's share of global reserves to be lower five years from now.

These are the institutions that actually hold the world's reserves, and they are telling you, on the record, that they plan to keep moving away from the dollar.

None of their reasons went away when the price fell. The US national debt keeps growing by trillions, Congress has no plan beyond borrowing more, and Washington keeps proving it will continue to weaponize the dollar.

A central bank holding dollars is holding the liability of a government that is both overextended and unpredictable. Gold sitting in its own vault carries neither risk.

That calculus was true at $5,589, and it is just as true at $4,000.

A trader who is down 28% has a problem if they are trying to quickly turn a profit, and accumulate more paper dollars.

But a saver who plans to accumulate gold for the next decade just got a better price. That is why the sell-off did not scare away the biggest buyers in the market.

It may be exactly what they were waiting for.

We made this argument to our subscribers of our investment research newsletter, Strategic Assets, in January.

With gold near its all-time high, we said that this was no longer the early stage of a bull market, that a major drawdown was a real possibility, and that it was time to take some profits.

In fact, subscribers who took action on our research locked in gains of more than 950% on a small silver producer and 540% on a gold and silver producer, both in under a year.

Now the sell-off has come for the miners too. Even solid, debt-free producers are trading as much as 50% below their highs from earlier this year.

But again, as nothing had changed about the long term gold thesis, little has changed about the profitability of these companies. They are still wildly profitable at $4,000 gold, which is far above projections they had planned for.

Some of these companies are still pulling gold out of the ground at a cost of just $1,000 an ounce, which is an amazing margin.

So We Are Starting To Buy Again.

It is the same discipline the central banks just demonstrated: slow down when the asset is expensive, step up when it gets cheap, and never confuse a price correction with a change in the story.

Nobody knows where gold trades next month. But the biggest buyers on earth just showed you what they do when gold gets cheaper. They buy more.

To your freedom, James Hickman Co-Founder, Schiff Sovereign LLC

https://www.schiffsovereign.com/investing/why-central-banks-love-a-gold-sell-off-155458/?inf_contact_key=f383685557c31c8a7969f639690001cde0f86069758a2429ff9291df2b7d96e2

Could a US Gold Backed Bond Reshape the Dollar’s Future?

Could a US Gold Backed Bond Reshape the Dollar’s Future?

Kinesis Money: 7-10-2026

In an era defined by record-breaking national debt and fluctuating global confidence in the greenback, the conversation surrounding “sound money” has returned to the forefront of economic debate.

A recent featured video from Kinesis Money, hosted by Rob Kientz of The Freedom Report, dives deep into a provocative proposal: the issuance of a gold-backed U.S. bond, often referred to as a Treasury Trusted Bond (TTB).

While the idea of returning to a gold standard—even partially—appeals to many advocates of fiscal discipline, the practical realities of such a move are far more complex. Here is an analysis of the proposal, the mathematical hurdles, and what it means for the future of the U.S. dollar.

The core of this discussion centers on the work of Dr. Judy Shelton, a well known economist and former advisor. Shelton advocates for the U.S. Treasury to issue a limited number of bonds that are redeemable either in their dollar value or in a specific amount of gold.

While Rob Kientz acknowledges the intellectual appeal of Shelton’s proposal, he highlights a staggering obstacle: the sheer scale of the U.S. national debt.

Currently, the U.S. holds the world’s largest official gold reserves (approximately 8,133 tonnes). However, when valued at current market prices, this gold represents only a tiny fraction of the $34+ trillion national debt.

Kientz argues that the “math simply doesn’t work.” For the U.S. to fully back its obligations with gold, the price of the precious metal would need to skyrocket to levels that would likely cause systemic shocks, or the government would need to implement drastic spending cuts that are currently politically unfeasible.

One of the most compelling points raised in the video is the issue of timing. Introducing a gold-backed bond now might actually backfire. Kientz suggests that instead of restoring trust, it could signal to the world that the U.S. is “desperate” to shore up the dollar.

In a climate where BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are already exploring alternatives to the dollar, a move toward gold-backed bonds might accelerate “de-dollarization.” If foreign nations perceive the U.S. gold reserves as insufficient to cover the new bonds, they may choose to dump their existing Treasury holdings even faster, favoring physical gold or other emerging reserve currencies.

Since 2011, global central banks have been purchasing gold at record rates, suggesting that the move away from a purely fiat-based system is already underway.

Despite his skepticism regarding the immediate success of a gold-backed bond system, Kientz notes that Dr. Shelton’s proposal serves an important educational purpose. It forces lawmakers to confront the consequences of modern monetary policy and provides a framework for what “sound money” actually looks like.

However, the conclusion remains sobering: the U.S. likely does not hold enough gold relative to its massive liabilities to make this a viable “quick fix” for the current debt crisis.

If the government cannot easily pivot to a gold-backed system to save the currency, the responsibility for wealth preservation falls on the individual. Kientz concludes that while the TTB is a fascinating concept for national policy, individual investors should look toward securing their own wealth independently.

By holding physical gold and silver, individuals can create their own “personal gold standard,” protecting their purchasing power from the risks of inflation and fiscal instability.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN-fjSCKEJw

Gold's BIG Reset May Still Be Coming | Andy Schechtman

Gold's BIG Reset May Still Be Coming | Andy Schechtman

Liberty and Finance: 7-10-2026

Despite falling gold and silver prices, Andy Schechtman says physical demand continues to surge as record COMEX deliveries and metal withdrawals paint a very different picture beneath the surface.

He explains why tokenized precious metals, gold-backed Treasury bonds, and the migration toward physical settlement could reshape the global monetary system.

Andy also shares what he's hearing at the Rule Symposium, why retail premiums may soon rise again, and why he believes the second half of the year could look dramatically different for precious metals investors.

INTERVIEW TIMELINE:

0:00 Intro

1:38 Silver pullback

5:30 Gold-backed treasury update

15:22 Tokenization of gold

19:00 Rule Symposium

20:50 Rising premiums

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63IBPeCWLXA

RATE HIKE SHOCK: This Triggers The 60% Market Crash | Todd "Bubba" Horwitz

RATE HIKE SHOCK: This Triggers The 60% Market Crash | Todd "Bubba" Horwitz

Liberty and Finance:  7-7-2026

Todd "Bubba" Horwitz explains why he believes gold and silver have already formed an important bottom and why long-term investors may want to start accumulating physical precious metals now.

He also breaks down the AI-fueled stock market surge and warns that rising interest rates could be the catalyst for a sharp correction in equities.

The conversation covers the Federal Reserve, inflation, and the housing market, along with why higher Treasury yields may ultimately strengthen the long-term case for gold.

Todd also shares the key economic signals he is watching in the weeks ahead and what could matter most as markets face growing uncertainty. This interview offers a timely look at the forces shaping precious metals, stocks, and the broader economy.

INTERVIEW TIMELINE:

0:00 Intro

1:00 Gold & silver bottom?

9:44 Kevin Warsh & rates

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f6wN6nQYqY

Hong Kong Just Launched a Gold System That Could REPRICE Gold

Hong Kong Just Launched a Gold System That Could REPRICE Gold

Taylor Kenny:  7-7-2026

Hong Kong just launched a new gold clearing and settlement system — and it could change the way gold and silver are priced around the world.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Hong Kong Launches a Gold System That Could Reprice Gold

00:59 The West’s Paper Gold Pricing Monopoly

01:27 How Rehypothecation Suppresses Gold and Silver Prices

02:56 Banks, Spoofing, and Overnight Price Raids

04:22 Currency Resets, Inflation, and the Dollar’s Decline

05:19 Central Banks Know What’s Coming

06:43 Gold Infrastructure and the Return to Real Money

07:41 BRICS, Gold Corridors, and Oil Settlement

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ8Vr1o0DvU

SILVER UNOBTANIUM! Why the Silver Arbitrage Gap Between East and West is Exploding? | Bill Holter

SILVER UNOBTANIUM! Why the Silver Arbitrage Gap Between East and West is Exploding? | Bill Holter

Smart Silver Trends:  7-7-2026

In this video, "Silver Is The Fuse On Gold & The Fuse Is Lit," Bill Holter (aka "Mr. Gold") joins Andrew to discuss the imminent "failure to deliver" in the silver market.

Holter argues that silver has been suppressed since 1975 to support the US dollar and Treasury borrowing.

He explains that the shifting dynamics on the COMEX, where contract buyers are increasingly demanding physical delivery rather than cash settlements, are pushing the derivative-based financial system toward implosion.

With silver inventories depleting and physical price premiums rising in Shanghai, Holter suggests the 50-year era of price suppression is ending.

Financial expert Bill Holter argues that the "fuse is lit" for a massive revaluation in precious metals. He explains that silver is currently in a persistent five-year supply deficit that can only be balanced by significantly higher prices.

Holter suggests that silver will act as the catalyst for gold, leading to a breakdown of the fractional reserve financial system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LdY03Za_5Y

Silver: Could We Soon Run Out? What You Need To Know | Don Durrett

Silver: Could We Soon Run Out? What You Need To Know | Don Durrett

Liberty and Finance: 7-5-2026

Is the silver market headed toward a genuine supply shortage? In this interview, Don Durrett explains why growing industrial demand, limited mine supply, and tightening inventories could set the stage for a major shift in the silver market.

He also discusses where gold and silver prices may be headed next, what investors should watch for, and why the coming years could be pivotal for precious metals.

Don't miss this in-depth conversation on the risks, opportunities, and key trends shaping the future of gold and silver.

INTERVIEW TIMELINE:

0:00 Intro

1:15 Gold & silver update

8:55: Gold/Silver price targets

10:30 Gold/S&P500

17:00 Doom Loop

31:55 Next year outlook

38:00 Silver shortages ahead

46:50 Gold Stock Data

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0YKWE4iETE