Gold and silver briefly reclaimed their position as the world’s two largest assets by market capitalization as 2026 opened with fresh uncertainty.
Gold leads, silver battles Nvidia
According to CompaniesMarketCap data, gold was valued at about $31.1 trillion, keeping it in the top spot.
Silver, which has traded places with Nvidia for second since December, briefly overtook the chipmaker before falling back behind it at the time of publication.
Risk-off bid returns to metals
The move comes amid a year-long rotation into precious metals, with investors looking for traditional stores of value during global conflicts and trade disputes.
Gold and silver recently tagged new all-time highs of roughly $4,500 and $80.
Bitcoin, which at the time of the report traded near $92,058, sat in eighth place by market cap.
Rate-cut expectations in focus
Investors have also been positioning for potentially significant rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve under its new chair, a backdrop that has supported commodities.
In a separate interview, Clear Street managing director Owen Lau said the Fed’s 2026 policy decisions could be a major catalyst for bitcoin and other risk assets.
Lau said:
“[The Fed’s monetary policy decisions] in 2026 will be one of the key catalysts for the crypto space.”
