Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin has expressed concern over the growing trend of investors treating gold as a safer alternative to the US dollar, citing it as a sign of increasing de-risking amid US fiscal and monetary uncertainty, according top a report by Bloomberg.

Speaking at a Citadel Securities conference for institutional clients, Griffin highlighted that asset flows away from the dollar are being driven by fears around sovereign risk and recent federal government gridlock, alongside speculation about potential interest rate cuts. These factors helped gold hit record levels, with investors also increasing exposure to silver and Bitcoin in what some market commentators term the “debasement trade.”

Griffin described the US economy as being on a “sugar high,” noting that current stimulus measures resemble those typically seen during a recession, which is further fuelling market distortions.

While Griffin downplayed the impact of H-1B visa costs on Citadel’s operations, he stressed broader concerns about the global talent pipeline, particularly in mathematics and physics, and the risk of talent choosing countries like China over the US.