In the second episode of our podcast and webinar series, we hosted Fabiano De Marco, co-founder and owner of Excelior Gold. Drawing on more than three decades in financial consulting and private banking, De Marco leads a Switzerland-authorized metal dealer that combines physical gold custody with digital record-keeping.

Below are the themes he set out in conversation with us, from de-dollarization to the growing interest in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). The views attributed to him are his own, expressed as a guest; they are not Altherum positions, forecasts or assurances.

1. Wealth Protection vs. Speculation: The Monetary Role of Physical Gold

The premise De Marco returns to is a shift in mindset when looking at precious metals:

“Gold is always a tool for wealth protection, never a product for financial speculation. As J.P. Morgan famously put it: ‘Gold is money, everything else is credit.’” — Fabiano De Marco

Since 1971, when the United States severed the link between the dollar and gold reserves under the Bretton Woods system, central banks have repeatedly expanded liquidity. That expansion has coincided with a long erosion of the purchasing power of paper money.

Gold, by contrast, is finite. According to figures cited in the conversation:

  • ~196,300 metric tons of gold have been mined in human history.
  • Approximately 87.3% of known global reserves have already been extracted.
  • Remaining reserves are estimated at roughly 25,000 tons.

Physical scarcity of this kind is one reason gold has held a monetary role for millennia, and why many long-term holders treat it as a store of value rather than a trade. Scarcity alone, however, does not set a price: what a gram of gold is worth still depends on demand, currencies, rates and sentiment at the moment of sale.

A note on limits before going further. Gold generates no intrinsic yield: it pays no coupon, rent or dividend. Its price can be volatile over short and medium horizons. Storage, insurance, verification and transaction costs reduce the net outcome for the holder. Past price behavior does not predict future results, and a loss of capital is possible.

The Purchasing Power Question

In 2000, gold traded at roughly €9.70 per gram. At the time of this conversation it traded around €112–€113 per gram. Over that period, the metal preserved and increased purchasing power while paper money bought progressively less. This is a historical observation over one long window, not a rule that holds across every period, currency or entry point.

2. Market Drivers: BRICS De-Dollarization, Central Banks and Technology Demand

Several forces have supported physical gold demand in recent years, which official data place at historically high levels:

  • Central bank accumulation: central banks have added over 1,000 metric tons of gold a year to their balance sheets, diversifying foreign reserves.
  • De-dollarization and BRICS expansion: the BRICS bloc and its widening group of partners are examining settlement mechanisms less dependent on the US dollar, including arrangements referenced to gold reserves.
  • Industrial and high-technology demand: electronics, microchips and high-performance hardware for artificial intelligence use small quantities of gold for conductivity and corrosion resistance.
  • Geopolitical risk: conflict and economic uncertainty tend to move institutional capital toward tangible assets perceived as defensive, though that perception can shift and offers no guarantee of price support.

These are current conditions, not fixed features of the market. Demand from any of these sources can slow or reverse.

3. Tokenized Swiss Gold: How Digital Records Meet a Tangible Asset

One of the more concrete parts of the discussion concerned how a traditional store of value can be recorded and administered digitally.

Excelior Gold presented tokenized physical gold stored in Lugano, Switzerland, where a long-established tangible asset is paired with digital record-keeping:

  • Allocated ownership and transparency: each digital unit corresponds to physical gold bars held in high-security vaults in Lugano. Bars are uniquely numbered and allocated to the owner.
  • Reduced friction: depending on how a structure is set up, digital records can lower certain operating frictions and entry thresholds and simplify administration. They do not remove costs, risks, transfer restrictions or the need for a willing counterparty.
  • Lower entry thresholds: accumulation can begin with more modest amounts than a direct bar purchase, subject to eligibility, documentation and the terms of the specific programme.

“The trend toward tokenizing real-world assets will be a primary economic driver over the coming years. We started with a physical asset that has been recognized as a store of value for 6,000 years.” — Fabiano De Marco

Conclusion: Gold’s Place in an Allocation

Short-term spot prices move with derivatives trading and macro sentiment. Over longer horizons, many investors hold physical gold as one component of a diversified allocation, alongside assets that do produce income.

Global macro investors, Ray Dalio among them, have written about holding gold within diversified, all-weather approaches. That is a description of how some professional allocators think, not a recommendation, an endorsement of Altherum or a suggested allocation for any particular investor.

Gold is widely used as a diversifier against systemic risk, economic instability and currency devaluation. Its role has limits: no intrinsic yield, price volatility, costs of custody, insurance and verification, and the possibility of capital loss. It protects nothing automatically. Tokenized access changes how a holding is recorded, administered and transferred; it does not change the risks of the underlying metal, and it does not guarantee liquidity, an exit or a price.

For the full discussion on physical gold, Swiss vaulting and RWA tokenization, watch the complete webinar on the Altherum YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Wpg-c8F3YhU