Gold has captivated humanity for millennia, serving as currency, ornament, and store of value across different civilizations. But in recent years, the combination of low correlation and strong returns has made it one of the most important alternative liquid assets for an investor to ponder adding to their portfolio. Understanding what has driven the precious metal requires looking at both the timeless qualities that make gold unique and the contemporary forces reshaping global finance right now.

Today's environment provides a clear example of how these principles apply in practice. With positive real yields of approximately 1.23% available on Treasury bills, the inflation factor strongly favors staying at the short-end of the curve. Should 2-year yields move above Treasury bill yields, creating a normal curve slope, that would provide additional, though secondary, support for the Treasury bill position.

Over nearly every meaningful time frame, Bitcoin has dramatically outperformed traditional asset classes. In the last 3 years, it has returned an astonishing 79.2% annualized, compared to 18% for the S&P 500, 24.4% for gold, and just 2.6% for the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.