Global economic and political uncertainty has become a major factor contributing to the redistribution of capital in favor of precious metals.
Gold and silver are traditionally considered the safest assets, their value in 2026 updated the historical maximum.
Last Monday, a troy ounce of gold exceeded $5,110.
According to Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale forecasts, by the end of this year an ounce of gold will trade at $6,000 .
- Since the beginning of last year, the value of the base precious metal has increased by almost 20%.
Source: MEXC
If the discount rate of the US Federal Reserve is maintained, the demand for gold will remain high. The actions of the US administration in the field of tariff policy also contribute to the growth of investments in the precious metal.
A similar situation is observed around silver, a troy ounce of which soared to $117.69 in the second half of January, according to Reuters.
Since the beginning of 2026, this precious metal has grown by more than 50%, and over the past 12 months it has jumped 146%.
With increased investment in silver-focused funds and continued global uncertainty, a troy ounce of this metal could reach $170, analysts at Bank of America predict.
In parallel, there is an expansion of the tokenized precious metals market.
- On the MEXC exchange, traders can test perpetual futures for gold (XAUT) and silver (XAG). These tools are available paired with USDT around the clock.
The main theses:
- In the article, our team will analyze the situation in the precious metals market.
- Gold and silver are likely to add value if the Fed maintains monetary policy, as precious metals are still considered as the safest assets.
- In parallel, we will consider the reaction of the tokenized asset market to macroeconomic instability.
Social media hype could signal local peak for precious metals
The precious metals market stabilized in the middle of this week. On the night of Thursday, January 29, a troy ounce of gold exceeded $5,300, but quickly corrected below this psychological mark.
Silver also retreated slightly after jumping above $117 earlier in the week ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s discount rate decision.
Gold futures for February deliveries rose 4% to $5,286 an ounce. The US dollar index fell to a four-year low this week.
Gold may still jump above $5,400, but the asset is overbought and at risk of correction, according to Reuters, citing experts surveyed.
Source: Santiment
Since the beginning of 2026, the cost of the main precious metal has increased by more than 20%. This week, the next maximum was accompanied by a surge in activity on social networks.
- According to Santiment, gold was in the public spotlight in mid-January. Traders on Telegram, X, 4Chat and Reddit are discussing the medium-term outlook for both gold and silver.
Bitcoin and other digital currencies, by contrast, have begun to attract less attention as they lose ground in the spot market.
On the MEXC exchange, the BTC rate at the beginning of this week dropped below $87,000. local bottom for the asset was the mark of $86,075.
Source: MEXC
The largest cryptocurrency retreated, while gold, on the contrary, periodically updated the maximum, the MEXC Research team notes.
The growth in the number of posts on social networks with a discussion of further prospects for precious metals accelerated the achievement of the local bottom. The growth of gold and silver is slowing, whereas bitcoin was gradually able to strengthen to $90,000.
- If precious metals remain in the spotlight in the coming days, and most traders will focus on the bullish scenario, then we can say that gold and silver have approached a local peak.
Usually, during such periods, capital begins to be redistributed in favor of other assets, such as shares of IT companies and digital currencies.
Key findings:
- The Fed’s decision on the discount rate can have a strong impact on investor strategy.
- According to the forecasts of most analysts, the American regulator will refrain from changing the rate. In this case, the growth of precious metals will slow down or may stop altogether.
- It cannot be ruled out that after maintaining the discount rate, gold will still exceed $5,400. However, most likely, this level in the current cycle will be the maximum for the asset, since traders begin to look at other instruments.
- The devaluation of the dollar led to the fall of the US currency index to a four-year low.
- Bitcoin also retreated amid rising purchases of gold and silver, but at the end of this week we saw a gradual change in the policy of retail and institutional investors. They begin to test such tools, which in January fell in price and became more accessible.
Capitalization of tokenized gold has updated the maximum
At the end of January, the market capitalization of tokenized gold reached $5.575 billion (according to CoinGecko).
At the end of last year, it was approximately $4.4 billion, the lion’s share of capital was accumulated by Tether tokens (XAUT) and PAX (PAXG) – $2.753 billion and $2.221 billion, respectively. These tools are available on the MEXC exchange.
The average daily trading volume in the tokenized gold market this week rose to $1.442 billion.
PAX Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT) are backed by physical gold.
Investors have the right to independently determine in which token they can invest their capital. According to analysts, the digital gold market has great potential.
Source: MEXC
In addition to perpetual gold futures in USDT, MEXC platform users also have perpetual silver (XAG) contracts available in USDT.
These instruments focus on the current price of the main precious metals, and zero commissions reduce trading costs.
Key findings:
- The depreciation of fiat currencies creates conditions for long-term redistribution of capital in favor of more reliable instruments.
- In the digital sector, tokenized gold has great potential. Its capitalization in January exceeded $5 billion.
- MEXC exchange users have access to gold tokens from Tether and PAX. These assets are backed by physical gold, which confirms their reliable liquidity.
Conclusion
- The expansion of the tokenized precious metals market was a direct result of the increase in the value of gold and silver. These assets in January updated the historical maximum, but by the end of the month their growth slowed down.
- The January rally triggered a surge in interest in gold and silver on social media. Most Telegram, X, Reddit and 4Chat users expect a new high in the coming days, but the dominance of positive sentiment usually speeds up the achievement of a local peak.
- It cannot be ruled out that a troy ounce of gold will exceed $5,400, but the overbought asset brings the correction closer.
- Tokenized gold is available to MEXC exchange users. They can test the capabilities of Tether and PAX tokens.
- In addition, the exchange offers perpetual futures for both gold and silver.
Disclaimer: This information is not investment, taxation, legal, financial, accounting, advisory or any other related services advice, nor is it advice to buy, sell or hold any assets. MEXC Training provides information for reference purposes only and is not investment advice. Please make sure you fully understand all risks and exercise caution when investing. The platform is not responsible for users’ investment decisions.