Nomi Prins on Gold, Stagflation, and the Coming Global Realignment

When central banks quietly accumulate gold month after month, it's not just a trend, it's a signal. And when seasoned insiders like Nomi Prins, former Goldman Sachs managing director turned global economic whistleblower, raise the alarm on America's fiscal time bomb, it’s time to listen. In this gripping conversation, Prins unveils a stark vision of a world drifting away from U.S. dollar dominance, with gold, critical minerals, and geopolitical upheaval at the heart of the next financial chapter.

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Act I: The Gold Rush Nobody's Talking About

Gold has been on a relentless tear. After consolidating around $3,300 per ounce, it recently surged past $3,400. But according to Prins, this is just the beginning. Her forecast? $4,000 by year-end. In our latest Pod, she outlines her thesis behind gold's sustained move to $4,000 and which hard assets she believes will outperform.

"We've got central bank buying at the seventh consecutive month in a row," Prins explains. "It's a geopolitical diversifier to U.S. and Western policy."

She references growing demand from sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, and private investors:

"Momentum buyers are recognizing it for the necessary asset class it is. That’s just starting—particularly in the West."

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Gold is no longer just a hedge. It is a strategic weapon, a vote of no confidence in the dollar, and an emerging standard for global trade outside the Western order.

Act II: The Supply Crunch That Could Ignite Junior Miners

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As demand for gold rises, supply isn’t keeping up. In fact, exploration budgets declined in 2024, largely due to high interest rates and rising capital costs. Prins points out:

"Even if some juniors had viable assets, funding timelines were uncertain"

However, she sees a reversal coming:

"I think the money starts flowing in the second half of this year."

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The pivot, she argues, will be driven by both macroeconomic shifts and market cycles. The big miners—already flush with cash from higher prices—are beginning to hunt.

"We’re going to see bids in the market for juniors with permits, good jurisdictions, and relationships. This is a relationship business."

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She points to jurisdictions like Canada, Australia, parts of Central and South America, and Western U.S. states as best-positioned to benefit.

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Act III: The Debt Crisis Nobody Wants to Face

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Below the surface of the commodity bull story lies a deeper fault line: America's exploding debt. Prins is blunt:

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"Powell has been a very bad manager of the Fed’s own book."

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With nearly $37 trillion in U.S. federal debt and annual interest payments now exceed $1 trillion and the system may be nearing a breaking point.

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"Every single time Washington wakes up and has to turn on its lights, the lights include paying nearly $1 trillion worth of interest."

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Despite 100 basis points in rate cuts last year, long-term yields remain elevated—and that spells trouble.

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"The moves that happened last year benefited the front end of the curve, but they haven’t made a dent."

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Prins sees another 100 basis points of cuts coming in 2025, alongside a likely return to quantitative easing.

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"Pivoting to QE is also a likely occurrence... as growth slows and interest payments rise."

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Act IV: The Global Pivot Toward Real Assets

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With faith in fiat currencies fading, nations are moving to hard assets. Gold is just the start. Prins also highlights a global scramble for copper, uranium, and critical minerals.

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"China holds all the cards right now," she says. "If they ever decide not to allow processed rare earths to leave the country, it stops the world."

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Western governments are racing to respond. In Canada, infrastructure funds have been launched. In the U.S., executive orders have been issued to fast-track permitting. Everything from lithium to gallium, titanium and vanadium are trending as policy makers find ways to fast-track production decisions.

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"There is bipartisan support. Critical minerals are definitely on the White House radar."

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But catching up to China's dominance in rare earths processing won't be easy:

"There's only one U.S. miner that can currently separate rare earths into usable individual elements. That’s not going to make a dent."

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Act V: The Permanent Distortion

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Prins coined the term "permanent distortion" to describe the widening chasm between financial markets and the real economy.

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"We’re still in a world where central banks support the markets... but the cost of money still favors financial markets over the real economy."

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This creates an uneven playing field. Asset owners thrive, while everyone else falls further behind.

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"If you're not investing significantly in commodities and real assets, there are just too many reasons driving them to not be."

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In a world of stagflation, she advises:

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"Reduce your debt load as much as possible. And stay exposed to hard assets—metals, minerals, infrastructure, energy."

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Act VI: A Monetary Reset in Motion

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From Costco selling out of gold bars to retail brokers hiring new staff just to keep up with demand, something fundamental is shifting.

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"People are buying now. That’s a change. In 2023 and 2024, they were selling into strength."

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And the infrastructure to support this shift is already forming. Payment systems like China’s CIPS are growing in membership, slowly offering nations a dollar-free trading ecosystem.

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"Gold creates a sort of friendship of a band. You have gold, we have gold... it’s not a U.S. dollar or a Chinese yuan. It’s just gold."

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As global finance fractures into East and West, gold becomes the neutral ground.

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"There’s a reevaluation happening globally—and investors who don’t position for that will be left behind."

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The Age of Real Assets: Gold, Silver, Copper and Critical Minerals

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From stagflation to geopolitical fracture, from debt-fueled decline to a hard-asset resurgence, the signals are clear. Nomi Prins isn’t just forecasting price action. She’s revealing a paradigm shift.

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"We are in a reevaluation period. Every country is weighing trust, debt, assets, and self-preservation. And gold is emerging as the anchor."

In a world of diminishing trust and rising risk, hard assets are no longer a hedge. They're a necessity.

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