Gold and Silver: You Can't Buy Them Even With Money — The Real Reason Planes Were Dispatched to the London Spot Market to Buy Silver | Former Professor Hong Ik-hee

Summary

Former Professor Hong Ik-hee explains why BRICS central banks and global central banks are aggressively buying gold as distrust in the dollar and US Treasuries grows, especially after Russia's foreign-exchange reserves were seized. He argues that physical gold and silver shortages are becoming structural, with London and Chinese silver markets showing acute tightness, high lease rates, and large premiums. For portfolios, he recommends treating gold and silver as long-term value assets, with a 70% silver / 30% gold precious-metals allocation, while managing silver's higher volatility. He separates crypto from precious metals and suggests a dominance-weighted long-term crypto allocation of Bitcoin 57%, Ethereum 12%, XRP 5%, and around 25% in selected altcoins.

• BRICS and global central banks are buying gold at a much faster pace due to dollar distrust and reserve-seizure risk.
• The October 17 London silver spot squeeze forced emergency air transport of physical silver and exposed paper-market fragility.
• Silver demand is increasingly industrial and hard to substitute, while supply is mostly a byproduct of zinc, copper, and gold mining.
• Chinese silver inventories and Shanghai silver premiums signal that physical silver is scarce beyond Western markets.
• Hong recommends a 70/30 silver-to-gold precious-metals mix for upside, with caution on silver's downside volatility.
• For crypto, he recommends a long-term dominance-weighted portfolio: Bitcoin 57%, Ethereum 12%, XRP 5%, and about 25% selected altcoins.