Gold's next rally won't need a crisis — the world's dysfunction is the catalyst.

Gold was little changed following a three-day rally that took the precious metal to an all-time high above $4,500 an ounce. Platinum tumbled more than 6%, also retreating from an all-time high touched overnight.

Research from Duke University suggests that the introduction of gold exchange-traded funds permanently pushed up the price of gold.

Gold is having its best year since 1979. Gold futures traded in New York have soared almost 71% this year, on pace for their best annual gain in 46 years. The last time gold had such a strong year, Jimmy Carter was president, a crisis was unfolding in the Middle East, inflation was soaring and the United States was in the midst of an energy crisis.

Gold and silver soared to all-time highs, as escalating geopolitical tensions and bets on further US rate cuts added momentum to the best annual performance in more than four decades.

The price of Bitcoin fell less than 1% over the past 24 hours to $87,300. Bitcoin hit a record high above $126,000 in October but has since fallen back dramatically amid deteriora

In the case of gold, central bank hoarding, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) purchases, a weaker dollar, and falling interest rates have served as major tailwinds. Few of these are expected to ease in the year ahead.

Tiernan Gold made its IPO debut. Read more about the company's Chile project and why it stands out among others.