Gold, Bitcoin, and safe havens: Christopher Wood on navigating global market risks

In a conversation about today’s turbulent markets with ET Now, Christopher Wood, from Jefferies shared his insights on gold, Bitcoin, and economic safety in the current global environment.

Wood advised caution for leveraged gold investors. “So, if you own gold on leverage, I would take some profits here because it had a big move. But if you are structurally owning gold, then you stay invested. But you should be prepared for, logically, a period of consolidation,” he said.

When asked how long this could last, Wood estimated, “Could last between 6 to 18 months.” He added, “In my view, gold can easily reach $10,000 within five years. It is just a question: did we have more of a correction before?”


Wood emphasized the importance of gold and oil stocks as hedges against geopolitical risks. “Gold and oil stocks are the only way to hedge these geopolitical risks,” he said. While restrictions on gold ownership could happen in Western countries—as it did in 1930s America—he noted, “Not in India. No.” He also highlighted the possibility of the U.S. revaluing gold on its treasury balance sheet to manage debt, calling it “definitely a possibility.”

Central bank activity has been a key driver in gold’s recent rally. “What triggered this latest gold rally in the last three-four years is central banks outside G-7 buying gold,” Wood explained. “This really picked up when you had the freezing of the Russian foreign exchange reserves back in 2022. Since then, every quarter we’ve had net buying by central banks, outside G7. No one made any formal announcements, but they just took the view that if this could happen to Russia, it could happen to us. Interestingly, based on current gold prices, central banks globally now own more gold than they own treasury bonds.”

Turning to cryptocurrencies, Wood noted the structural risks to Bitcoin, especially from emerging quantum computing technologies. “If quantum arrives, then it is an existential issue for Bitcoin. The Bitcoin community is trying to come up with a way of pre-emptively addressing this issue. But if quantum arises, it is also an issue for e-banking.” Regarding market cycles, he said Bitcoin typically follows a four-year cycle. “It looks like it peaked in late October. If it follows the normal pattern, Bitcoin should bottom a year after it peaked, maybe around October–November this year.”

On safer economic environments, Wood expressed confidence in India’s prospects. “I think India is as good as anywhere from that standpoint,” he said. For young entrepreneurs, he believes opportunities are abundant domestically, especially with capital readily available. “The opportunity is here in India,” he added.

Addressing concerns over Federal Reserve policy, Wood said, “If the Federal Reserve really starts being much more hawkish, then obviously I will be wrong and gold will correct. But it is really hard to see that happening in reality. If they really shrink the balance sheet, as they said they will, that would be negative for gold and good for the dollar. But that is going to have all kinds of collateral damage because of the liquidity tightening.”

With markets facing geopolitical tensions, central bank interventions, and technological risks, Wood’s advice underscores the importance of strategic positioning. Gold, he believes, remains a core hedge, while emerging technologies like Bitcoin require careful scrutiny.