As the international gold price continues to hit new highs and approaches $2,700, the precious metals market is also setting a new 'milestone': the total market cap of physical gold worldwide has surpassed the $20 trillion mark for the first time!

Jeroen Blokland, the founder of Blokland Asia Vets Multi-Asset Fund, was the first to notice this phenomenon across the entire financial market.

In a tweet released by Blokland on Wednesday, he wrote, "Gold's real-time market cap has surpassed $20 trillion for the first time!" He also attached a chart of the change in gold market value produced by the institution.

Blokland has always closely monitored every move in the precious metals market. Earlier this year, he repeatedly pointed out the lag in statistics on gold market value on some common websites in the market.

For example, on the well-known market cap statistics website Companiesmarketcap, the statistics for the latest gold market value still remain at $18.019 trillion. Blokland has pointed out multiple times that the related numbers are underestimated, as Companiesmarketcap still uses above-ground gold data from three years ago from the World Gold Council (in 2021).

So, how was the current gold market value calculated to surpass the $20 trillion mark?

The answer is actually quite simple. According to the latest data released by the World Gold Council in February this year, by the end of 2023, the global gold stock mined amounted to 212,582 tons. Converting this figure into ounces (1 ton = 35,273.96 ounces) and multiplying it by the current gold price (already reaching $2670 at the highest on Wednesday), it has just exceeded $20 trillion.

Undoubtedly, for the precious metals market, this number is clearly a milestone worth celebrating.

How does the purchasing power of 20 trillion US dollars in gold compare? If compared in the stock market, all the gold in the world can almost buy the top ten listed companies globally - equivalent to $Apple (AAPL.US)$N/A.$Microsoft (MSFT.US)$,$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$,$Amazon (AMZN.US)$and$Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ Saudi Aramco, $Meta Platforms (META.US)$Please use your Futubull account to access the feature.$Berkshire Hathaway-B (BRK.B.US)$N/A.$Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US)$And.$Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.US)$The total market cap.

Looking at the historical changes in market value, the past four years have undoubtedly been a soaring period for the gold market value.

Before the outbreak of the epidemic in 2020, the total market value of gold had not actually surpassed 10 trillion US dollars. However, in recent years, this ancient and eternal asset has witnessed a new miraculous surge in price.

Despite the tightening cycles of global central banks in recent years, logically unfavorable for gold as a non-interest-bearing asset, gold has not stopped its upward trend. Strong central bank purchases and increasingly tense geopolitical situations have continuously driven the demand for safe-haven and diversified gold investments, thus supporting the gold price.

With the recent entry of the Federal Reserve and other central banks globally into a new easing cycle, the gold price has undoubtedly received further upward momentum. Gold prices have risen by nearly 30% so far this year, making it the largest increase in the same period in the past 30 years.

In a report last month, analysts at ubs group stated, "Despite gold prices reaching multiple new highs this year, outperforming major stock indices, we believe that there is still room for gold price to rise in the next 6 to 12 months. We believe key factors include the recovery of large-scale inflows of exchange-traded fund (ETF) funds - which has been lacking since April 2022."

Many analysts have expressed that funds flowing into gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the coming months, especially funds from Western investors, are expected to increase. This is likely to provide further bullish stimulus for gold prices that have already reached new highs.

Many Wall Street institutions have now raised the target price of gold to the key level of $3,000.

BofA commodity equity index strategist Michael Widmer wrote in a recent report to clients that factors such as increased investment demand, geopolitical tensions, rate cuts, and central bank gold purchases may boost gold prices. BofA expects the price of gold to reach $3,000 per ounce in the next 12 to 18 months.

Editor/Rocky