(Miles Franklin Media) – The world is on the cusp of a "full blown monetary reset" as geopolitical tensions escalate and central banks quietly accumulate gold, warned Willem Middelkoop, founder of the Commodity Discovery Fund and a long-time observer of the global monetary system.
In an interview with Andy Schectman, Founder and CEO of Miles Franklin Precious Metals, Middelkoop said that these shifts signify a struggle for global leadership, moving beyond mere proxy conflicts.
Middelkoop highlighted the current conflict between Israel and Iran as a "very complicated story" where both governments are "fighting for their political survival."
However, he noted that both sides are being restrained by external powers, with the U.S. seeking to prevent an all-out conflict that could lead to World War III, and Iran aiming to avoid a regime change that might result from directly attacking American interests.
Beyond the immediate Middle East flare-up, Middelkoop views this as a proxy conflict, similar to the war in Ukraine, for a much larger struggle: who will be the new global hegemon, the U.S. or China.
"This is 81 years after Bretton Woods," he told Miles Franklin Media, pointing to historical 80-year cycles that often culminate in periods of conflict as empires decline. He expressed hope that the competition between the U.S. and China does not become a "kinetic one" with missiles.
The geopolitical map is rapidly shifting, particularly in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is "playing both sides" between the U.S. and the BRICS alliance, despite unofficial membership in BRICS, Middelkoop pointed out.
Iran and the UAE have officially joined BRICS, while Turkey is also seeking to join.
China, according to Middelkoop, is leveraging the BRICS alliance as a "competitor against the U.S.," as many countries, having experienced regime changes, now seek to "team up" to resist being "played one by one" by the U.S.
Gold's return to prominence
A significant indicator of the impending monetary shift is the coming revaluation and re-monetization of gold. Middelkoop, who began buying physical silver in 2003, has been warning about a crisis in the monetary system for decades. He noted that the "dollar based system would reach the end game" around 2022-2023.
The current surge in gold prices is not surprising, driven by institutional and sovereign investors who "flee towards gold when there's the smell of war in the air or there's a smell of monetary reset in the air."
He highlighted that the "price discovery mechanism is moving from west to east," with the Shanghai Gold Exchange now powerful enough to compete with COMEX.
Central banks worldwide are breaking records in gold purchases and repatriation. Middelkoop echoed this sentiment, referencing the Dutch Central Bank's acknowledgement that gold is needed to "bring trust back into the financial markets" during a crisis.
"After the U.S. has weaponized the dollar, we're now in the face that the countries are starting to weaponize gold," he said, pointing to Russia and China, stating they "understand he who has the gold makes the rules," referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s post on Truth Social.
Middelkoop believes that gold does not need to "come back" into the monetary system because it "doesn't need to come back. It's already there."
When asked about which asset to "dump" for American investors, Middelkoop firmly stated, "I never advised to bear bonds because that was like a toxic asset for me."
The dollar has been weaponized. Is gold now being "weaponized" by countries like Russia and China to rewrite the global financial rules? Watch the video above for insights!
