Destiny 2 got a wealth of new content with the Season of the Chosen, a new seasonal update focusing on the Cabal and the evil Empress Caiatal who is trying to consolidate power in the solar system. The season mainly revolves around the new Battlegrounds and the special ritual item, the Hammer of Proving. That said, don't expect to be grinding nothing but Battlegrounds while the season lasts, since you'll need to spend time in other activities as well to earn Cabal Gold.
What is Cabal Gold?
Cabal Gold is a new seasonal currency introduced specifically for the Season of the Chosen. You'll only start earning Cabal Gold after you unlocked your own Hammer of Proving by completing the two Battlegrounds introductory missions, called the Challenger's Proving, as well as the Umbral Engrams introductory mission called Decrypting the Darkness. The Hammer of Proving is used to decrypt Umbral Engrams and smash chests at the end of Battleground matches - you can read more about how to unlock the hammer and what it does
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Cabal Gold is tied to the hammer because you'll be using it to upgrade the fancy weapon. Cabal Gold is mostly spent on Etched Challenger Medals which cost 14 pieces of the new currency, and allow the Hammer of Proving to smash more caches at the end of Battlegrounds. Each smashed cache grants you one Hammer Charge which is the consumed during the decryption of Umbral Engrams, meaning the more Medals you have, the more Charges you get and the more Engrams you decrypt. Umbral Engrams contain the powerful new seasonal equipment, so increasing your decryption rate will speed up progress. How to earn Cabal Gold? Despite being the seasonal currency, Cabal Gold is not earned from the seasonal activity, Battlegrounds. You're going to have to run some of those other activities you usually do in order to upgrade your hammer. Activities paying out Cabal Gold include Strikes, Dungeons, Crucible matches, Gambit matches and public events, with cabal Gold payouts depending on the type of activity and your performance during it.