Stephen Miran’s Fed Appointment Signals Gold’s Next Big Move

“You’ve got to take away the punch bowl just when the party is getting good.”

— William McChesney Martin

August 15, 2025 — Earlier this week, I wrote that Stephen Miran’s appointment to the Federal Reserve isn’t just another personnel move—it’s the placement of Trump’s Reset architect inside the very institution that will help carry out America’s most ambitious economic overhaul in generations.

Without getting into the weeds, Miran, the mastermind behind what’s been dubbed the “Mar-a-Lago Accord,” outlined a comprehensive plan to flip the U.S. dollar’s reserve status from a burden into a bargaining chip. To turn America’s towering debt from an embarrassment into leverage. And to reorient the entire global economic structure in Washington’s favor.

And of course, what makes this especially relevant right now—particularly for anyone with gold exposure—is the timing.

The yellow metal has been on a relentless march higher throughout 2025, setting multiple all-time highs and blasting past $3,400 an ounce just last month. Now, with Miran’s appointment to the Fed, we’re seeing exactly why smart money has been quietly accumulating the yellow metal all year.

But anyone thinking Miran’s appointment is simply about giving Trump another dovish vote for rate cuts is missing the much bigger picture. Gold isn’t just rising because of anticipated rate cuts. It’s been rising because informed investors recognized what Trump’s Reset strategy would eventually require: the systematic weakening of dollar dominance and a potential gold revaluation.

The upshot is that Miran’s appointment is simply the latest confirmation that this plan is moving from theory into practice. (And once you see what that implies for both the dollar and gold, it’s easier to understand why $3,400 gold may be only the beginning.)

Miran’s Fed Position Is a Game-Changer

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I can’t stress this enough.

This isn’t just about securing another dovish vote for rate cuts—Trump could have picked any yes-man for that. It’s about placing the architect of America’s monetary reset directly inside the Federal Reserve.

You see, the Fed doesn’t set tariffs, negotiate trade deals, or sign defense pacts—but it does control the single most important lever in Trump’s Reset: the cost and flow of money.

From his position as Fed governor, Miran will have a permanent vote on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), giving him direct influence over interest rates, money supply, and crucially, the Fed’s balance sheet operations. But more importantly, he’ll be positioned to coordinate monetary policy with the broader Reset strategy he designed.

Think about what this means in practical terms—and from Trump’s perspective. The Reset strategy involves coordinated dollar devaluation—but that requires the Fed to be on board. You can’t orchestrate a Plaza Accord (more on it below)-style currency adjustment if your central bank is fighting you every step of the way. With Miran inside the Fed, Trump gets someone who understands both the macroeconomic theory behind dollar devaluation and the practical mechanics of how to execute it through monetary policy.

Note: The U.S. dollar has already weakened more than 10% over the past six months. To put it in perspective, the last time the dollar fell this much early in the year was 1973—right after the U.S. finalized its break from gold and the fiat era fully took hold.

Miran’s appointment also signals something even more significant: the institutional capture of monetary policy. When Jerome Powell’s term expires in May 2026, Fed chairs are typically chosen from among existing governors. By installing Miran now, Trump is positioning his Reset architect to potentially lead the entire Federal Reserve system.

In short, it’s Trump making sure the Fed itself becomes a primary tool for carrying out his Reset. And there’s a very deliberate reason for that.

Trump’s Reset Needs the Fed on Side

Now, I brought up the Plaza Accord above because it’s the closest historical precedent to what we’re calling the Mar-a-Lago Accord.

You’ve probably heard of it.

On September 22, 1985, finance ministers from the world’s largest economies gathered at New York’s Plaza Hotel to coordinate a devaluation of the unnaturally strong U.S. dollar.

Naturally, outside the U.S., no one wanted a weaker dollar—it would make their exports pricier for American buyers. But, just like today, Washington applied pressure with tariffs, import surcharges, quotas, and pointed accusations of “unfair trade.”

And guess what? It worked. West Germany and Japan—the economic powerhouses of the day—caved.

But here’s what made the Plaza Accord actually work: the Federal Reserve was fully on board. Fed Chairman Paul Volcker coordinated closely with Treasury Secretary James Baker to ensure monetary policy backed the dollar devaluation strategy. He cut interest rates from roughly 12% to 6% between late 1984 and late 1986, creating the conditions for the dollar to fall. Without that cooperation, the Plaza Accord probably would have been just another piece of paper.

This is exactly why Miran’s appointment is so crucial. Trump learned from Reagan’s playbook—to execute coordinated currency devaluation, you better make sure your central bank is pulling in the same direction. By installing the Reset architect inside the Fed, Trump ensures that monetary policy will align with, rather than undermine, his broader economic strategy.

And what happened to gold in the wake of the Plaza Accord?

It surged. Take a look at the chart below.

After the Plaza Accord in 1985, gold jumped from about $320 per ounce to over $370 between September 1985 and March 1986. That’s in just six months.

Adjusted for today’s prices, that would be like seeing gold leap to roughly $4,000 an ounce.

But here’s the thing… If Trump’s Reset unfolds the way I believe it will, it won’t just be a repeat of the Plaza Accord—it’ll be that on steroids.

In today’s globalized and overleveraged economy, the ripple effects could be enormous. I wouldn’t be surprised to see gold surge to $5,000–$8,000 per ounce as markets scramble to adapt.

Regards,

Lau Vegys
Doug Casey’s Crisis Investing & Grey Swan Investment Fraternity

P.S. from Addison: Today marks 54 years since Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard, dismantling the Bretton Woods exchange rate system.

The Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, NH, hosted the most famous monetary conference in the modern era, which took place near the end of the hostilities of World War II in 1944. (Source: Addison Wiggin)

In a single announcement, President Nixon flipped the global monetary order from gold-backed stability to one backed only by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. government — and put more political heat than ever on the Federal Reserve’s “dual mandate” to tame inflation and maintain full employment.

Back in 1971, markets initially cheered Nixon’s decision — the Dow popped nearly 4% the next day. But the party didn’t last. Within a decade, inflation was running into the double digits, gold had rocketed 15-fold, and the Fed was forced into the brutal rate hikes of the Volcker era to restore credibility.

That same dual mandate is why Jerome Powell is squarely in Trump’s sights today… and why we expect more market turmoil in the months ahead as the Fed takes the heat for Trump’s economy – even though it could kick off what we call a “most terrifying bull market.”

P.P.S. I got this voicemail on my personal cell number today:

“Hi Mr. Wiggin, my name is Mari and I am On Zoom call and there’s Like three pages of people here that are waiting for you and then So So I don’t know if you can Have someone from your office put the new link on the Zoom with With the old link, I hope this is making sense anyway there is Problem with you not being on the old link and we need A new email with the with the link that we should be using for Zoom thank you bye…”

The call came in from Anchorage, Alaska. I thought it might have been President Trump calling.

Alas, no. It appears we had some technical difficulties. If you were trying to join us for our Sneak Peek Grey Swan Live! today but met with a similar fate, please accept my apology. The situation has been remedied. Paid-up fraternity members can watch the replay on site as soon as it’s posted.

Your thoughts? Please send them here: addison@greyswanfraternity.com