Different decades. Same pattern: gold doesn’t trend up forever. It tends to run hard for 9-10 years, then cool off for years and sometime decades.
BUT WHAT USUALLY ENDS A GOLD SUPER RUN?
It’s usually a mix of:
- Inflation finally cooling - Real rates moving up - The Fed getting tighter for longer - The dollar stabilizing - Tisk appetite coming back
That’s why gold peaks often show up around major policy shifts.
When gold topped in 1980, it wasn’t the end of markets. It was the start of a long rotation: gold cooled off, stocks entered a long uptrend that lasted for 20 years.
When gold topped again in 2011, we saw a similar shift: gold went sideways/down for years, stocks went into a long bull trend through the 2010s and beyond.
So the historical pattern looks like this:
Gold super run ends → capital rotates back into growth assets → equities get a long runway.
Currently gold recently pushing to a new high area ($5.6k) after a strong multi year climb. That doesn’t confirm a top by itself.
But it does tell you something important: We are no longer early in this move.
THE BIG DIFFERENCE THIS TIME: In 1980, there was no crypto. In 2011, Bitcoin was still tiny and ignored. In 2026, crypto is a real market with: institutional participation, ETFs and big platforms, public companies holding BTC, a much bigger investor base than any prior cycle.
So if the classic post gold rotation happens again…
This time it may not be: Gold → Stocks only
It could be: Gold → Stocks + Bitcoin + high beta crypto
Because crypto is now part of the risk-on world.
Gold has a history of 10 year super trends, When those trends mature, stocks often get a long runway.
This cycle is now in the same late stage decade window. And crypto is the new player that could absorb part of the next rotation.