Most analysts think gold is soaring amid a new stock boom because investors want to hedge against rising policy uncertainty, particularly in the US. This theory implies, however, that global investors have an extraordinary tolerance of cognitive dissonance, in fully embracing artificial intelligence-driven optimism for US stocks and the caution associated with gold. It also just seems a bizarre choice — why hedge with gold at a time when more direct forms of protection (such as buying put options on stocks) are cheap by comparison?