Gold is a worse inflation hedge than stocks. Gold is actually bought to have quick liquidity when there is a market opportunity. It functions as cash but with less inflation but its not to evade inflation its just better than directly holding cash.

And yes it is a pyramid, almost all of the value come from the fact that central banks hold most of it and almost never sell to the open market and most of the rest is in jewelry with 2-3 generation turnaround time so essentially removed from the gold market.

Also, gold has actual utility as a product that is needed to manufacture certain things and is also desirable for cultural reasons like jewelry for enjoyment and social signaling.