Gold surged to a fresh record of $5,594.82 per ounce on Jan. 29 before reversing sharply in a dramatic intraday sell-off.
The sudden drop saw gold plunge by around 10% within hours, wiping out trillions of dollars in market value.
The move marked the first major break in an almost uninterrupted rally that had pushed gold far beyond earlier forecasts.
Analysts said the sell-off was driven by heavy profit-taking after months of strong gains.
Some market watchers also pointed to shifting geopolitical signals and changing currency expectations.
Despite the sharp fall, gold remains up close to 30% so far in 2026.
Central bank buying has continued to support gold prices even after the correction.
Critics have warned that gold’s rapid ascent showed signs of speculative excess.
“While parabolic moves often take asset prices higher than most investors would think possible, these out-of-the-world spikes tend to occur at the end of a cycle,”
Cathie Wood said.
“In our view, the bubble today is not in AI, but in gold,”