Authored by Matthew Piepenburg via VonGreyerz.gold, With gold and silver having fallen by greater than 20% from their January highs of 2026, some have argued the gold trade is over. In fact, and as explained below, it is only just beginning. Trading vs. Investing Such misunderstandings are nothing new, as the difference between precious metal trading and precious metal investing is nothing new. Nor is there anything new about top-down misinformation and misdirection given to Main Street when it comes to understanding gold and silver. Traders, both skilled and unskilled, tend to track near-term signals for immediate rates of return (long or short) while longer-term investors typically watch history, debt cycles and currency debasement with patient detachment and a steady eye toward wealth preservation. Such patience has served the longer-term, wealth-preservation-focused investors with greater returns (and calm) through periods of headline flux and geopolitical gyrations. Since 2000, gold has outperformed the S&P, and when compared against the major global paper currencies (down 94% since 2000), gold (up 1580% since 2000) has demonstrably outperformed fiat “money.” Longer-term investors …