Reserve freezes, fiat currency flight, and a rush to gold. None of this is new. But it's all intensified in recent months—and Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater and one of the world's leading investors, explained why this trend is likely to accelerate.

Sanctions have become state policy

Powers no longer need to go to war to attack rivals. Simply cut off access to money, credit, and markets—and the effects are immediate.

This was the case with Japan before World War II. And with Russia in 2022.

Every great power makes the same calculation.

What can I cut from my enemy? What can he cut from me? What reserves do I need to protect?

This logic is guiding decisions today—from the US Treasury to the Chinese Central Bank.

Money is on the battlefield

Freezing foreign assets has become a tool of pressure. And those with reserves in an opposing currency know the risk they face.

Sanctions on the dollar have rekindled alarm bells around the world.

This is already affecting the dollar and US bonds.

When the risk of a blockade enters the game, capital begins to migrate.

Less demand for treasuries. More protection outside the system.

Gold has once again become the great strategic reserve.

It doesn't depend on payment systems. It can't be frozen by any government. And it has no risk of default.

Therefore, the violent migration to gold has gained even more momentum among central banks and governments.

Sanctions also carry a dangerous bonus.

If the debtor blocks payments to the enemy, they reduce their debt and weaken the other party. It's tempting.

But there's a cost: their reputation as a good payer disappears. And the system loses trust.

This cost multiplies when the issuer is the global reserve currency.

The impact ceases to be bilateral and becomes systemic. Those who use the dollar as the basis of the system begin to seek options.

This is what is behind the growing diversification of global reserves.

This movement is already happening.

In China, the issuance of physical gold certificates on the Shanghai Futures Exchange has skyrocketed. In five months, the number of gold certificates has jumped from 3,000 to 84,000 tons.

The wheels are turning.

The entire trust-based system is being repriced.