When Paper Money Becomes the Biggest Risk | Understanding the True Divide Between Gold, Bitcoin, and US Stocks

As 2025 approaches its end, one phenomenon is becoming increasingly clear: the traditional "cash is king" logic is outdated.

Why? Because money itself is failing.

When central banks continuously inject liquidity, government debt remains high, and inflation expectations fluctuate, measuring wealth in fiat currency becomes problematic—you seem to be accumulating wealth, but in reality, you're experiencing depreciation. This is the core issue repeatedly emphasized by economist Ray Dalio in recent summaries.

Against this backdrop, the roles of different assets are undergoing fundamental changes:

**Gold**: Essentially an "insurance policy," hedging against monetary policy out of control and credit risk. When debt is inflationized, gold becomes your lifeline.

**Bitcoin**: A more aggressive choice. It is not only an inflation hedge but also a "parallel vote" against the existing financial system. Its fixed supply makes it especially scarce in an era of unlimited issuance.

**US Stocks**: Behind nominal growth, real returns may be shrinking. Valuations are high, but actual profit growth is sluggish.

The real issue isn't the rise or fall, but what standard you choose to measure with. The conclusions differ entirely when measuring in USD versus measuring in gold.

This is the most important question to consider in 2025: when "money itself" begins to become a variable, can your asset allocation strategy keep up?