- Gold prices have seen a significant drop since the US-Iran war started.
- XAUt and PAXG are assets that are backed by real-world gold, so their performance depends on gold prices directly.
- Peter Schiff argues that rising inflation and the current global situation should support gold and not weaken it.
Gold prices have dropped down sharply since the Iran war erupted on February 28, 2026. At first, investors rushed to buy gold as a safe-haven asset after the US and Israel carried out strikes, pushing prices higher. But that trend quickly reversed.
Gold has now fallen from around $5,423 per ounce to below $4,350 as of March 23, marking a decline of more than 14% in just a month. Tether Gold (XAUt) and PAX Gold (PAXG Price) have followed the same trend. As these tokens are backed by real-world gold reserves, the prices tend to fall when gold prices decline.
At the time of writing, the price of XAUt stands at $4,313.08 with a drop of 3.94% in the last 24-hours as per CoinMarketCap.
Moreover, PAXG price stands at $4,265.52 with a drop of 5.33% in the last 24-hours as per CoinMarketCap.
Massive Gold Market Cap Wipeout
The Iran conflict has erased around trillions of dollars from gold’s total market capitalization. This situation is amplifying fears of disrupted global energy flows and spiking inflation.
Gold, which is usually seen as a safe-haven asset during a crisis, has weakened as conditions shifted and investor sentiment turned cautious. This was first highlighted by Arthur Hayes in an X post. He pointed out that Bitcoin outperformed the precious metal in gains since the US-Iran war began.
At the same time, geopolitical pressure around Iran’s threats to energy infrastructure and risks linked to the Strait of Hormuz have made markets more volatile. All of these developments have coincided with a broader sell-off.
Silver also followed the same trend, declining as industrial demand softens and economic uncertainty affects the consumption. Overall both precious metals have come under pressure due to the ongoing conflict.
Stock Markets in Freefall Worldwide
Global equities are reeling under the same pressures. Asian markets plunged today, March 23, 2026. Japan’s Nikkei dropped down by 4%, South Korea’s KOSPI fell 4.5-6, and Hong Kong’s HSI dropped by 3.44%.
European indexes like the STOXX 600 have slid amid energy shock fears, while US markets saw the Dow drop 0.8% and Nasdaq 1% in recent sessions. These crashes are all in sync which indicates the panic that exists within these markets.
Bitcoin’s Remarkable Resilience
In contrast, Bitcoin is trading around the $68,000 mark as of March 23. However, this number is because of a recent pullback after the Bitcoin price briefly touched $75,000 last week. The drop came after the inflation data and Federal Reserve’s FOMC decision which influenced broader market sentiment and triggered some profit-taking.
This indicates that Bitcoin is not completely stable but is moving within a range and is reacting to the macroeconomic conditions. Even with this volatility, the Bitcoin token has shown resilience when compared to traditional assets that have experienced sharper declines.
Peter Schiff’s Warning on Gold and Rates
Earlier today, Peter Schiff posted on X and stated that the market is reacting the wrong way. According to him, when inflation is high, people usually expect interest rates to stay high or fall in real terms later, which actually supports gold prices. However, this time around, things are moving in the opposite direction. The price of gold is plummeting instead of rising.
Selling gold because rising inflation will keep the Fed from cutting interest rates, when rates are already too low, makes no sense. Falling real rates are bullish for gold. It’s the stock market that needs rate cuts. That’s why it makes no sense that stocks are down so little.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) March 23, 2026
Schiff believes that gold becomes much more attractive when real interest rates are low because it helps protect value. On the other hand, stocks depend more on rate cuts to go up. So, in his view, selling gold right now does not make much sense.
Final Thought
Overall, the market reaction is putting pressure on assets like Tether Gold (XAUt) and PAX Gold (PAXG), as both closely track physical gold and have declined along with it during the recent downturn. While geopolitical tensions and macro uncertainty continue to drive volatility, the weakness in gold directly reflects in these tokenized assets.
As the market is reacting differently than traditional expectations, Bitcoin is showing relative resilience even though volatility is high. At the same time, debates continue around whether inflation, interest rates and policy decisions will eventually support gold or strengthen alternative assets like Bitcoin.
Also Read: Bitcoin Falls Below $68K as Macro Pressure Weighs on Markets
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