Egon von Greyerz, a legendary figure in currency history fluctuations, expressed his views on gold in an interview with the media this week. The following is the content of his speech (recorded), compiled by the trading team of Wall Street Intelligence Circle.

The longer we look back on history, the further we look forward to the future. History tells us that the end of every monetary era ends with the currency dropping to zero. Since Nixon closed the gold standard in 1971, the US dollar and other major currencies have depreciated by 99%. The remaining 1% of the depreciation path means that the current currency value will drop to zero from the current level. This is precisely the prelude we have witnessed – the US dollar index has declined, the stock market has fallen, and gold has led the rise.

The rise of gold is not driven by speculation but by its revaluation as the ultimate currency – gold, as the world’s number one asset, is being permanently revalued. Now, Basel III has included gold as a Tier 1 asset, which will come into effect this year. This means that banks can treat physical gold as a Tier 1 asset and enjoy the same status as cash or government bonds. In my opinion, national debt is completely worthless. It will neither be repaid in the United States nor in Europe because the real currency can only be physical currency, not the “ridiculous currency” obtained by printing money. Therefore, holding government bonds is extremely risky, not to mention that they are denominated in daily depreciating legal tender (such as the US dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen, etc.). Since 1971, these currencies have depreciated by 99% – in contrast, the status of gold should be several grades higher.