Gold just hit a major milestone. Is silver next?
On Sunday, the price of gold hit a major milestone: it surpassed the $5,000-per-ounce mark for the first time in history. But while gold’s price rise is a good thing for investors in the precious metal, it may also signal broader investor anxiety about the markets—and the world. Here’s what you need to know about gold’s surge.
Gold trades above $5,000 for the first time ever
On Sunday, gold surpassed $5,000 per troy ounce—the first time it has ever done so. The precious yellow metal climbed to $5,107 on Monday morning before paring back slightly to its current price of $5,082 per ounce, as of this writing.
Gold’s most recent milestone is just the latest example of the good run the precious metal has had since 2025. During that calendar year, gold’s price surged 64%—its highest single-year gain since 1979.
And 2026 is, so far, shaping up to be another stellar year for gold. Already this month, the precious metal has hit milestone after milestone, surpassing its 2025 all-time high on January 6, 2026, when it reached $4,497.20 per ounce.
Less than a week later, gold crossed the $4,600 mark. And on January 20, gold crossed the $4,800 barrier for the first time. It then took gold just five days to cross the $5,000 threshold for the first time in history.
What’s behind gold’s recent rise?
The short answer is Trump. But the more nuanced answer is uncertainty.
Gold is a safe-haven asset—an asset that offers relative stability in times of economic uncertainty or geopolitical upheaval. During these times, traditional assets like stocks and digital assets like cryptocurrencies can be, and often are, highly volatile.
When investors are uncertain about the world or the economy, they tend to pull their money out of these types of assets to lock in any gains they have made, and then put the proceeds of those sales into a more stable asset like gold.
2026 has begun with massive geopolitical and economic uncertainty, primarily due to the decisions of President Donald Trump. The year kicked off with the U.S. attack on Venezuela, which Trump ordered to capture the country’s president. Almost immediately after that, Trump set his sights on acquiring Greenland.
At the same time, Trump also threatened tariffs on eight European countries that publicly spoke against the president’s desire to acquire Greenland, which would potentially trigger a trade war. It was only last week that Trump finally backed down from his threats to acquire Greenland.
Domestically, things have been just as chaotic in America. This month alone, ICE officers have shot and killed two American citizens in Minnesota, igniting fierce protests and condemnation from Americans across the country. But in news that has investors specifically worried, Trump’s Justice Department has also opened a criminal investigation into Fed chair Jerome Powell, which many believe is politically motivated due to Powell not lowering interest rates as fast as the president wants him to.
All these events have created significant uncertainty about the world and the economy, prompting investors to seek assets they can park their money in that are historically less volatile than stocks.
Silver rising, too
The price of gold isn’t the only precious metal rising due to all this uncertainty. Silver is also up significantly since 2026 began.
As of the time of this writing, the price of silver is currently trading at around $108.50 per ounce after hitting an earlier all-time high of above $109. It was only last Tuesday that silver hit a then all-time high price of $95 per ounce.
Over the past 12 months, silver has surged nearly 250%, and since 2026 began, the precious metal has risen a staggering 40% in the first 26 days of the year.