20 Years of In Gold We Trust: Revisiting the 2007 Debut Edition
19. Januar 2026
In 2026, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the In Gold We Trust report. To mark this milestone, we are revisiting 20 years, 20 threads. In short, each piece highlights a vintage that helped shape today’s understanding of gold and the global monetary system.
After revisiting the debut edition from 2007, we now turn to 2008, the second edition of the series. Interestingly, it was published just as gold’s secular bull market began to accelerate meaningfully.
If 2007 laid the groundwork, 2008 captured the moment when theory turned into momentum.
Following the inaugural 2007 edition, the 2008 report arrived at a critical juncture. Gold had already been in a bull market for several years, but the second half of the 2000s marked a clear shift in speed and intensity.
As we later described in the 2025 In Gold We Trust report, this period formed part of what we dubbed a Golden Decade. Essentially, a secular bull market in precious metals that lasted approximately a decade, and that truly came alive in its latter half.
By 2008, gold was no longer a sleeper asset. Indeed, the rally had traction.
Appropriately titled “A Shiny Outlook!”, the 2008 edition delivered a confident message:
🔖 The secular gold bull market remained intact, despite rising volatility.
Corrections were not viewed as failures, but as necessary pauses within a broader upward trend. This framing would prove crucial as markets soon entered one of the most turbulent periods in modern financial history.
What began as a subprime mortgage issue rapidly evolved into a global confidence crisis.
Aggressive rate cuts, mounting systemic stress, and a weakening US dollar forced investors to reassess risk. In that environment, gold reasserted its role, not merely as a commodity, but as a monetary safe haven.
The 2008 report captured this transition in real time, as gold once again became a hedge against systemic fragility.
With hindsight, 2008 stands out as a pivotal year. As highlighted in the IGWT 2025 edition, the second half of the 2000s bull market was when precious metals began to rise decisively.
In many ways, 2008 sat right at that inflection point, where long-term structural forces started to dominate short-term noise. Gold, silver, and mining equities all entered a more dynamic phase.
On the supply side, the picture was increasingly constrained:
Mine output had fallen to multi-year lows
Central bank sales were slowing
Recycling was unable to close the gap
The conclusion drawn in the report was straightforward and powerful: 📢 Only higher prices could ultimately balance the market.
Although the attention now is directed to silver’s supply deficit, gold went through the same issue. This structural imbalance would become one of the defining pillars of the gold bull case in the years ahead. Notwithstanding, the current silver market imbalance is much more acute and persistent.
At the time, albeit still far from consensus, the 2008 report anticipated a shift in central bank behavior.
Diversification away from US dollar–heavy reserves had begun, particularly among emerging economies. Even modest reallocations toward gold were expected to have outsized price effects, given the relatively small size of the gold market.
This insight would later prove remarkably prescient.
In March 2008, gold briefly traded above USD 1,000, before correcting sharply amid crisis-driven liquidation.
The IGWT assessment was clear: 🧠 This was a technical reset, not the end of the bull market.
In spite of volatility being intense, the underlying drivers remained firmly in place. Subsequent years would validate this view.
The 2008 edition outlined ambitious price objectives:
USD 1,200 as a key milestone
USD 2,300 as the inflation-adjusted long-term target
At the time, these projections were often viewed as bold. With hindsight, they stand as an example of conviction grounded in structural analysis, not speculation.
Another defining development captured in the 2008 report was the rapid rise of gold ETFs.
ETF inflows dramatically changed how investors accessed gold—bringing liquidity, transparency, and scalability. This structural shift broadened gold’s investor base and permanently altered demand dynamics.
Despite sharp drawdowns during the Global Financial Crisis, gold’s rally endured. Ultimately, it peaked in 2011, after a tremendous multi-year advance.
The short-term target was reached the following year, on December 1. However, the long-term view proved to be too ambitious, as it was only fulfilled 15 years later, on April 3, 2024.
All in all, the Golden Decade delivered.
Looking back, the In Gold We Trust report 2008 stands out for its clarity during uncertainty and its confidence amid turmoil.
📌 For those interested in revisiting how these themes were articulated before the crisis fully unfolded, the report remains essential reading.
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