Gold at $20K? Ron Paul Says Fiat Currency Breakdown Makes It Possible

Ron Paul says the global fiat monetary system is nearing a “climactic end,” warning that soaring debt, currency debasement, and political overreach are pushing the dollar—and the broader world order—toward a dangerous reckoning.

Liberty Advocate Ron Paul on Debt, Gold, and Why the Dollar’s Decline May Accelerate

Speaking with David Lin on The David Lin Report (TDLR), former Texas congressman and longtime libertarian standard-bearer Ron Paul delivered a familiar but sharpened message: this time, the warning signs are louder, faster, and harder to ignore.

Paul argued that decades of unchecked spending and monetary expansion have hollowed out the dollar’s credibility both at home and abroad. Unlike past debt scares that Washington managed to skate past, he said today’s environment feels fundamentally different. “We have consumed so much of our wealth,” Paul said, adding that credibility has also been squandered through foreign policy and monetary abuse.

At the center of Paul’s concern is the federal debt, which has ballooned past $38 trillion. He framed the issue not as a bookkeeping problem but as a structural failure. According to Paul, governments no longer fund obligations with real savings but instead rely on money creation that quietly transfers wealth. “They don’t have the money,” he said. “They have to steal the purchasing power of the dollar by increasing the money supply.”

That process, Paul argued, helps explain widening income inequality. Those closest to newly created money—large institutions and politically connected interests—benefit first, while wages and savings for the middle and lower classes lag behind rising prices. Inflation, he said, functions as a hidden tax. “The poor are being hurt the most,” Paul noted, describing the inflation tax as more damaging than income taxes.

Paul tied those pressures directly to gold’s dramatic ascent. With gold trading near $5,000 per ounce at the time of the interview, he said sharp price moves signal eroding confidence in fiat currency. “When you see gold going up over $100 in a day… it is different,” he said, adding that even he has been surprised by the speed of recent moves despite warning about such outcomes for decades.

Asked whether the fiat system is approaching its end, Paul was blunt. “Yes, it is dying,” he said, though he stressed that the timing and path forward remain uncertain. He echoed comments from Ray Dalio, who recently described the global monetary order as breaking down, noting that debt trajectories alone make the system mathematically unstable.

Paul also revisited a prediction he has made before—that gold could one day reach $20,000 per ounce. He framed the forecast less as a bullish call and more as a reflection of currency collapse. “It went from $20 to $200 to $2,000,” Paul said. He added:

“There’s going to be another zero in our lifetime.”

Still, Paul cautioned that the system may fail before such price targets are even reached. In a true monetary breakdown, he said, measuring value in dollars becomes meaningless. “The system may not make it that far,” Paul said. “It just goes on and on.”

Beyond markets, Paul warned that economic instability often bleeds into political and social life. As governments attempt to manage chaos, he said, civil liberties are frequently the first casualty. He pointed to increasing constraints on speech and debate, arguing that economic stress makes authoritarian responses more likely rather than less.

The interview also touched on geopolitics and alliances. Paul suggested that organizations such as NATO could become ineffective if the U.S. dollar’s dominance erodes. “If you run out of money, you have to change your mind,” he said, arguing that financial exhaustion, not diplomacy, often brings wars to an end.

Also read: Crude Collapse: Brent Slides to $65 as Geopolitical Risk Premium Evaporates

Despite the grim outlook, Paul struck a cautiously hopeful tone when discussing public awareness. He said younger generations appear increasingly open to Austrian economics and skeptical of centralized monetary control. The internet, he noted, has helped spread those ideas—even as it also amplifies misinformation.

Paul now hosts the Ron Paul Liberty Report, where he continues to argue that debt liquidation and monetary reform are unavoidable steps toward a healthier system. The transition, he warned, will not be smooth. “This shift… is very, very dangerous,” Paul said, adding that the risk of disorder grows the longer policymakers delay confronting reality.

FAQ ❓

• **What does Ron Paul believe is wrong with the current monetary system?**He argues that excessive debt and money creation have debased the dollar and undermined economic stability.
• **Why does Ron Paul link inflation to inequality?**Paul says inflation acts as a hidden tax that disproportionately harms lower- and middle-income households.
• **Why is gold rising, according to Ron Paul?**He believes investors are fleeing fiat currency as confidence in government money erodes.
• **Does Ron Paul think the dollar will collapse soon?**Paul says the dollar is dying but stresses that timing and outcomes remain uncertain.