Kitco News, Released on 4/22/25

Gold soared past $3,500 an ounce. Bitcoin broke $90,000. Treasury yields surged. And the IMF just cut its global growth forecast to 2.8% — the slowest since the pandemic. As safe-haven flows shift and capital moves away from U.S. assets, questions are rising about the future of the dollar, Federal Reserve independence, and the direction of global markets. In this Kitco News interview, Axel Merk, President and CIO of Merk Investments and portfolio manager of the ASA Gold and Precious Metals Fund, joins Jeremy Szafron to unpack what he calls “a structural shift” in the financial system. Merk explains why the U.S. is behaving more like a hedge fund than a central bank, why gold is signaling deep systemic stress, and why the market may be underreacting to the risks ahead. He also shares where smart money is going now — and why junior gold miners may offer critical upside as volatility grows.

00:00 Introduction
02:34 Gold Market Analysis
04:19 Federal Reserve and Political Interference
07:39 Global Financial System and US Dollar
21:44 Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Trends
23:57 Gold Miners and Investment Strategies
29:39 Conclusion

Axel Merk is the Founder, President, Portfolio Manager, and CIO at Merk Investments LLC. He is an expert on qualitative research and macroeconomic trends. Mr. Merk is also an expert on macro trends, hard money, international investing, and on building sustainable wealth, and he is a pioneer in the use of strategic currency investing to seek diversification. He is a speaker and author on topics ranging from the economy, gold, and currencies to sustainable wealth and personal finance, as well as a regular guest and contributor to the business media around the world. Mr. Merk is an Author of the book Sustainable Wealth: Achieve Financial Security in a Volatile World of Debt and Consumption.

  bitcoin, gold, investing