Gold has seen a significant increase in value in 2023, with spot prices rising from $1,823 per ounce to the current price of $1,937 per ounce. However, Harry Dent, founder of HS Dent Investment Management, believes that this trend may not continue in the near future. Dent predicts that gold may lose value to the range of $900 to $1,000 over the next 18 months.
HS Dent Founder’s ‘Everything Bubble’ Theory and Its Potential Impact on the Economy
On Tuesday, Harry Dent, founder of HS Dent and financial author, spoke with Michelle Makori, the lead anchor and editor-in-chief at Kitco News. Dent expressed his belief that “the biggest crash in our lifetime” is approaching and that gold will be one of the year’s hardest-hit commodities. This perspective differs from that of many “gold bugs” who believe 2023 will be a positive year for the yellow metal.
This week, economist and gold advocate Peter Schiff stated that gold’s rise in value is due to its perception as “a hedge against inflation and a weaker dollar.” Historically, gold has been viewed as a reliable store of value and a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty. Similarly, Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s Mad Money program, emphasized that those who truly wish to protect against “inflation or economic chaos,” should “stick with gold.”
Dent strongly disagrees with these perspectives and predicts that gold will lose significant value over the next 18 months. “Gold is not a safe haven,” Dent stated during his interview with Makori. “I’m predicting that gold goes down to $900 to $1,000. That will be a lot less than other commodities … that is still a 40 to 45 percent fall from here,” he added. Dent has previously identified several manufactured financial bubbles over the years and referred to the current situation as the “everything bubble.”
While Dent believes 2023 may be challenging, he anticipates that mid-2024 will be even worse. “I feel like the ultimate low at this point for stocks is likely to be … July or so of 2024,” Dent said during the interview, noting that the tech-heavy Nasdaq index (IXIC) could reach 10,088 again. “So, we’re still in the early stages. To know that this crash is continuing and will go a lot deeper, we need to break the last low … which is 10,088.” The financial author added:
The boom from 2009 to late 2021 in stocks was 120 percent artificial. It was just [the U.S. central bank] stimulating more and more to keep the stock market going up … That is taking a toxic financial drug, which when it finally goes down and fails, you have a hangup.
Dent Predicts Bitcoin Will Be Hardest-Hit Asset in Upcoming Economic Crash, But Is Still Bullish Long-Term
Dent presumes that we are beginning the next wave of decline after a period of lateral movement. “This bubble has finally burst, it has started to burst,” Dent asserted to the Kitco anchor. “Now a bubble of this magnitude, like 1929 or 1972, which was not a bubble but it was a long-term [downturn]. It takes two-and-a-half to three years for a whole crash to happen. All we’ve seen so far, and we have seen it, is the first crash,” Dent added. In terms of bitcoin (BTC), Dent believes it will be the hardest hit among all assets and stocks.
The HS Dent executive expects bitcoin to crash to the $3,250 range, reaching the same low as it did during the Covid-19 crash in March 2020. “I think it goes down to $3,250, and then it starts a longer-term boom,” Dent opined. The investor views cryptocurrency as the next big thing and believes it has the potential to lead to the digitization of all aspects of finance and money. “There’s $600 trillion dollars” in financial assets, Dent detailed, and digitizing that and expanding trade to make it more efficient is a “huge thing.”
The true purpose of cryptocurrency, according to Dent, is to restructure the entire financial assets market, which is the largest financial number in the world. Global GDP is roughly $100 trillion Dent explained, while financial assets “is the largest multiplier,” around $600 trillion. “That’s why I’m bullish on bitcoin and crypto,” Dent said.
What do you think about Harry Dent’s predictions for the future of gold and bitcoin? Do you agree or disagree with his assessment and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
