[fredfoobar]

> 1) fear due to the virus and its economic consequences

so, in "lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors", the mechanism of "luring" is fear.

> 2) the USD is falling rapidly

seems to be a part of 1)

> Gold as a commodity is almost exclusively priced in dollars globally. If the dollar plunges, gold will spike higher accordingly

Isn't gold priced by a market? if the market has to move, the people must be willing to pay more dollars (or to say it another way: they have access to cheap dollars). It seems like people are exchanging their cheap dollars for gold, this is the part that doesn't make sense to me.