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Nuvau Provides Corporate Update and Strategy for 2026

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Building on exploration success at flagship Matagami project

Nuvau Minerals Inc. (TSXV: NMC,OTC:NMCPF) is pleased to provide a corporate update, highlighting the success of 2025 exploration programs and plans for 2026. Previous exploration has resulted in significant gold and base metal discoveries and has expanded the Company’s base metal mineralized inventory at its Matagami Project in the Abitibi region of Québec.

‘We went public in late 2024 with a mandate to increase base metal resources, initiate gold-focused exploration that has been overlooked on our large-scale property, and accelerate work toward restarting mining operations,’ said Peter van Alphen, Nuvau’s President and Chief Executive Officer. ‘With extensive existing processing and permitted mining operations, the Matagami Property truly represents a near-term production opportunity with limited start-up capital. We have made significant progress, developing two zones of volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralization, discovering a new orogenic gold system at Bracemac, and expanding mineralization at the Bracemac-McLeod Mine. This work sets the groundwork for an updated mineral resource estimate on the property, updated economic studies, and advancing the completion of the earn-in from Glencore.’

Key achievements in 2025

Exploration continued across the property, while also progressing multiple initiatives aimed at advancing the planned restart of production:

  • A sonic drilling program was completed to explore for mineralization in the glacial till, which delivered a significant gold grain anomaly with more than 2,000 gold grains per 10 kg of material, in an underexplored part of the property, supported by a near-contiguous sample with 295 gold grains, in hole PD-23-030s.
  • Caber Complex Base Metal Project – The company completed a successful drilling program that returned numerous high-grade intercepts at the Caber Complex deposit. This work was completed to increase drill density in preparation for the completion of an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE).
  • Renaissance Zone – Following the 2023 new VMS discovery, from the first geophysical target tested by Nuvau to the north of the Caber deposits. Twenty-seven holes were drilled, with 16 holes containing semi-massive to massive sulphide mineralization. Additional VMS mineralization was discovered at the PD1-East target, a nearby geophysical anomaly tested in 2025.
  • McLeod Extension – Seven new intersections from 5,526 metres of drilling in 2024 and 2025, following up on the 2023 program that discovered potential to expand mineralization proximal to existing mine workings, including an impressive intercept of 15.30 metres grading 2.92% copper, 15.32% zinc, 0.39 g/t gold, and 98.16 g/t silver.

A new prospective gold horizon was discovered in 2025, immediately east of the Bracemac Mine within a Tonalite intrusive, where the very first drill hole intersected visible gold in quartz veining that returned 8.87 g/t gold over 1.05 metres, including 16.02 g/t gold over 0.55 (BRCG-25-01). Follow-up drilling confirmed continuity of a broad, near-surface mineralized system within a large-scale target area, not tested in historic programs. Assay results are provided in Table 1 and 2 at the end of the document.

Strategic focus in 2026

The Matagami camp uniquely combines district-scale exploration potential with a near-term production restart opportunity, supported by a large land package, existing mineral endowment, and permitted infrastructure. Figure 1 highlights some of the priority exploration target areas.

Cannot view this image? Visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11236/282093_dcb70e799442ea69_001.jpg

Figure 1: Nuvau’s 2026 exploration focus areas for gold and base metals (volcanogenic massive sulfides)

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11236/282093_dcb70e799442ea69_001full.jpg

The company is preparing for a large-scale exploration program in 2026, continuing to test multiple high-quality gold targets and several promising base metal targets, including the Daniel 25 VMS area and untested geophysical anomalies in the central camp.

Gold exploration will focus on the underexplored area hosting the high-grade gold-in-till anomaly, advancing the Thunder Mine target where historic drilling intersected multiple high-grade zones that remain open, and evaluating the broader prospectivity of the footwall gold occurrence at the Bracemac Mine. All permits have been received for the expected exploration program for 2026.

Nuvau will continue to advance work aimed at updating its Mineral Resource Estimates for the multiple deposits located on the property, targeting upgrades to the Caber Complex, as well as initial mineral resource estimates for Bracemac-McLeod and Renaissance.

Following the resource updates, the company anticipates updating the previously completed PEA to include portions of those additional resources, as well as updating the associated economics and mine plans. Permitting initiatives will also continue to prepare the Matagami Property for the restart of mining operations.

Update on Matagami earn-in

Nuvau continues to advance its earn-in with respect to the Matagami Property. On January 28, 2026, Nuvau, Nuvau Minerals Corp. and Glencore Canada Corporation (‘Glencore’) entered into a second amended and restated earn-in agreement (the ‘Second A&R Earn-In Agreement’), which further amends and restates the terms of the earn-in agreement dated March 25, 2022, as previously amended and restated on June 28, 2024.

As Nuvau has satisfied all work requirements to earn the right to acquire a 100% interest in the Matagami Property, Nuvau has been working closely with Glencore to complete the transfer of Glencore’s interest in the Matagami Property to Nuvau. In order to facilitate such transfer, Nuvau and Glencore have agreed to certain technical amendments in the Second A&R Earn-In Agreement to address, among other things, certain regulatory considerations, the obligations of Nuvau with respect to the replacement of financial assurances, and the transfer of permits and authorizations to Nuvau. In addition, Nuvau also agreed to guarantee certain deferred obligations under the Second A&R Earn-In Agreement, updated to reflect status of Nuvau Minerals Inc. as guarantor of the obligations. Pursuant to the Second A&R Earn-In Agreement, Nuvau must complete the earn-in by no later than February 27, 2026.

For additional information, please refer to the Second A&R Earn-In Agreement, a copy of which will be available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under Nuvau’s issuer profile.

Table 1: Bracemac gold showing assay intervals

DDH interval* From To Length Gold g/t
BRCG-25-01 255.75 265.00 9.25 1.13
Including 255.75 256.80 1.05 8.87
BRCG-25-02 273.60 274.10 0.50 7.07
BRCG-25-03 187.20 195.40 8.20 0.20
Including 187.20 188.00 0.80 1.37
BRCG-25-04 96.25 96.75 0.50 1.17
BRCG-25-04 196.80 233.40 36.6 0.40
Including 196.80 197.30 0.50 7.61
Including 202.30 202.85 0.55 3.15
Including 228.00 229.00 1.00 4.27
BRCG-25-04 293.70 294.20 0.50 2.23
BRCG-25-05 100.00 100.75 0.75 1.98
BRCG-25-05 394.10 401.30 7.20 0.30
Including 394.10 394.90 0.80 1.35
Including 400.80 401.30 0.50 1.54

 

* Intervals conveying more than 1 g/t of gold or more than 5 m of composites > 0.2 g/t gold.
* All lengths are core lengths; true width is unknown.

Table 2: Bracemac gold DDH collar position (NAD83/UTM zone18) and drilling direction

DDH X Y Az. Dip.
BRCG-25-01 307638 5506552 179.1 64.5
BRCG-25-02 307638 5506552 170.9 63.4
BRCG-25-03 307638 5506552 177.6 57.6
BRCG-25-04 307690 5506630 200.5 51.3
BRCG-25-05 307690 5506630 196.6 66.2

 

About Nuvau Minerals Inc.
Nuvau is a Canadian mining company focused on the Abitibi Region of mine-friendly Québec. Nuvau’s principal asset is the Matagami Property that is host to significant existing processing infrastructure and multiple mineral deposits and is being acquired from Glencore.

For further information, please contact:
Nuvau Minerals Inc.
Peter van Alphen
President and CEO
Telephone: 416-525-6023
Email: pvanalphen@nuvauminerals.com

Qualified Person and Quality Assurance
Bastien Fresia P. Geo. (Qc), Technical Services Director of Nuvau and a ‘qualified person’ as is defined by National Instrument 43-101, has verified the scientific and technical data disclosed in this news release, and has otherwise reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.

Sonic Core has been quicklogged on drilling site and shipped by truck to IOS facilities in Saguenay for detailed logging and sampling by a qualitifed quartenary geologist. Hole core from selected intervals has been bagged and queued for processing in the same facility, where samples were sifted and gold grain concentrated with a proprietary fluidized bed. Concentrates were then dry sifted at 50 μm, the +50 μm being examined under an optical microscope, while the -50 μm was scanned by an automated electron microscope. Every suspected gold grain has been analyzed by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer (EDS), and high magnification back-scattered images have been acquired in order to classify morphology. Quality control is ensured via various mass balance calculations and EDS analysis of all grains of interest, prior to results being cross-examined by experienced geologists. In the course of sifting, an aliquot of the sample has been saved and shipped for analysis to Activation Laboratories in Ancaster, Ontario, for ICP-MS-QQQ ultra-trace analyses after aqua-regia digestion. Quality control has been conducted by a certified chemist and includes approximately 15% blanks, certified reference materials and internal reference materials.

Diamond Drill core samples are sawn by staff technicians in Nuvau’s Matagami’s core shed to create half-core splits. One split is retained in the drill core box for archival purposes with a sample tag affixed at each sample interval, and the other split is placed in a labelled plastic bag along with a corresponding sample number tag and placed in the shipment queue. Quality control samples, including blind certified reference material (‘CRM’), blank material, and core duplicates, are inserted at a frequency of 1 in every 20 samples and sample batches of up to 60 samples were then shipped directly by Nuvau personnel to the ALS Canada Ltd. preparation laboratory in Rouyn-Noranda, Québec. All submitted core samples are crushed in full to 95 % passing less than 2 mm (ALS code CRU-32). A 1000-gram sample was then riffled, split from the crushed material and pulverized to 90 % passing 75 μm (SPL-22 and PUL-32a). Pulps are shipped from the preparation laboratory to ALS Canada Ltd.’s analytical lab in North Vancouver, British Columbia, for assay. Lead, silver, copper and zinc analyses were determined by ore grade four acid digestion with an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (‘ICP-AES’) or atomic absorption spectroscopy (‘AAS’) finish (ALS codes Pb-OG62, Ag-OG62, Cu-OG62 and ZnOG62), whereas gold was determined by 50 g fire assay analysis with an AAS finish (code Au-AA23).

PhotonAssay analysis (code Au-PA01) is used on the samples from Bracemac Gold. The samples are sent to Val d’Or MSALabs. Up to 1kg per sample is pulverized to 70% passing 2mm (CRU-CPA), encapsulated in 500g capacity separated plastic lids, adapted for the method and identified with barcodes and unique ID numbers. The Gamma Ray-based Photon Assay is directly processed in the MSALabs Val d’Or facilities. As the method is non-destructive, the assays can be reprocessed and are conserved for archive and future use in the plastic lids. For comparison, at the initiation of the drilling campaign, the method was tested against Fire Assays in ALSLabs, a 50 g fire assay analysis returned 15.75 g/t Au, compared to 16.02 g/t Au by PhotonAssay.

Cautionary Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, ‘forward-looking statements’) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as ‘may’, ‘should’, ‘anticipate’, ‘will’, ‘estimates’, ‘believes’, ‘intends’ ‘expects’ and similar expressions which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements concerning drill results relating to the Matagami Property, the results of the PEA, the potential of the Matagami Property, the timing and commencement of any production, the restart of the Bracemac-McLeod Mine, the completion of the earn-in of the Matagami Property and the timing and completion of any technical studies, feasibility studies or economic analyses. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and the actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, assumptions and expectations, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including expectations and assumptions concerning the Company and the Matagami Property. Readers are cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, as such information, although considered reasonable by the management of the Company at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and are expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statement. Except as expressly required by securities law, neither the Company nor Nuvau undertakes any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

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To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282093

News Provided by TMX Newsfile via QuoteMedia

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Trump and GOP eye midterm convention cities in high-stakes bid to hold House, Senate

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President Donald Trump likes the idea of holding the GOP’s first ever midterm convention later this year in Nevada or Texas, people involved in the discussions tell Fox News Digital.

But those sources say that the president’s initial preferences don’t mean that other cities are off the list of convention host city contenders.

As Fox News Digital first reported, the Republican National Committee (RNC) last week took a big step toward holding the convention by approving a change to the party’s rules that would allow Chair Joe Gruters to convene a convention during a midterm election year.

Gruters, speaking with reporters after the RNC greenlighted the midterm convention, called it a ‘Trump-a-palooza’ where ‘we can really highlight all the incredible things that this president has done.’

National political conventions, where party delegates from around the country formally nominate their party’s presidential candidates, normally take place during presidential election years.

But with Republicans aiming to protect their narrow control of the Senate and their razor-thin House majority in this year’s elections, Trump announced in September that the GOP would hold a convention ahead of the midterms ‘in order to show the great things we have done’ since recapturing the White House.

Details on the date and location of the midterm convention are expected to be revealed in the weeks ahead and will likely be announced by the president.

In the meantime, here’s a possible list of five strategic cities for the midterm convention. The locations, which anchor key battleground states or could serve as gateways to shifting demographic blocks, are aimed at giving Republicans an electoral edge in the midterms.

Las Vegas, Nevada

The city that touts that it’s the world’s entertainment capital due to its nightlife, shows and its long role as the nation’s legalized gambling mecca is also the largest city in swing state Nevada, which Trump narrowly carried in 2024.

Nevada will once again play a crucial role in the 2026 midterms, with Republicans aiming to flip three Democrat-held House seats. And the state will also likely hold a competitive gubernatorial election, as GOP Gov. Joe Lombardo seeks a second term.

Holding their midterm convention in Las Vegas might give the GOP a ballot box boost, similar to the likely bounce Trump received as he narrowly won battleground Wisconsin in 2024 after Republicans held their national nominating convention in Milwaukee.

And a party gathering in Las Vegas could help the GOP further appeal to the growing block of Hispanic voters and ‘service-class’ workers who have been increasingly attracted to the party’s economic agenda and messaging.

Dallas, Texas

Though Texas has been reliably red for a couple of decades, Republicans are working to protect GOP Sen. John Cornyn’s seat this year in a state that Democrats have long tried to stay competitive.

And the GOP aims to go on offense in Texas as they defend their House majority, looking to flip up to five congressional seats from blue to red after Lone Star State Republicans took the lead in the redistricting battle.

Plus, similar to Las Vegas, holding a convention in Texas puts Latino voters front and center for Republicans.

Phoenix, Arizona

Holding their convention in the nation’s fifth most populous city may boost Republicans as they strive to win back control of Arizona’s governor’s office in the midterms, as well as defend a handful of GOP-controlled House seats as they defend the majority in the chamber.

RNC Chair Joe Gruters emphasizes ‘there’s nobody who’s been more focused on affordability that President Trump’

Choosing Phoenix as host city would also allow the GOP to hammer home themes of border security and inflation in the crucial southwestern battleground.

And hosting in Phoenix, similar to Las Vegas and Dallas, would give Republicans an opportunity to showcase outreach to Latino voters.

Detroit, Michigan

With ballot box showdowns for a Democrat-held open Senate seat and governor’s office, swing state Michigan is a top GOP target.

And with four competitive House races, the results in the Great Lakes State may determine if Republicans keep their majority.

Holding the convention in Detroit also allows the GOP to focus on manufacturing, energy prices and trade.

Atlanta, Georgia

Republicans view Sen. Jon Ossoff as the most vulnerable Democratic senator seeking re-election this year.

And the GOP’s also defending the governor’s office, as popular Gov. Brian Kemp is term-limited.

Plus, naming Atlanta as host city would give Republicans a chance to showcase their efforts to court Black voters.


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Trump admin labels Israel ‘model US ally’ ahead of major military aid talks

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Last week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth released the 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS), a Pentagon blueprint that elevates Israel as a ‘model ally’ and translates President Trump’s national security doctrine into concrete military policy.

‘Israel has long demonstrated that it is both willing and able to defend itself with critical but limited support from the United States. Israel is a model ally, and we have an opportunity now to further empower it to defend itself and promote our shared interests, building on President Trump’s historic efforts to secure peace in the Middle East,’ the NDS states.

The document is now influencing parallel debates over the future of U.S. security assistance to Israel and whether the next Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, should continue delivering traditional U.S. military aid to Israel, amid dissenting voices that portray the alliance as a burden rather than a strategic asset.

According to the strategy, Israel proved its ability and willingness to defend itself following the Oct. 7 attacks, demonstrating that it is not a passive partner but an operational force that supports U.S. interests in the region. The strategy emphasizes empowering capable allies rather than constraining them, building on President Trump’s earlier push for regional integration through the Abraham Accords.

Jonathan Ruhe, director of foreign policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said the strategy reflects a broader American shift toward partnerships that strengthen both U.S. security and domestic industry.

‘U.S. defense assistance to Israel in the MOU is spent in dollars here in America to support our industry,’ Ruhe told Fox News Digital. ‘And like in the national security strategy, it then enables Israel to go and do more to protect U.S. interests.’

He said a future agreement would likely extend beyond funding alone. ‘A new MOU would also likely be broader and include things that are more 50-50 partnership, like joint research and development, co-production, intelligence sharing and things like that to reflect the changing partnership going forward,’ Ruhe said.

The strategy also highlights the importance of revitalizing the American defense industrial base, noting that allies purchasing U.S. systems help strengthen domestic production while enabling partners to shoulder greater responsibility for regional security.

Avner Golov, vice president of the Israeli think tank Mind Israel, said the document makes clear that Israel is viewed not merely as a recipient of aid, ‘Israel is in the fight. We are protecting ourselves by ourselves. We just need the tools to do that. And by doing so, we enhance not only America’s standing in the Middle East, but also worldwide and contribute to the American economy.’

That framing comes as Israel and the United States prepare for negotiations over the next 10-year MOU, which governs U.S. military assistance to Israel. The current agreement, signed in 2016, provides $3.3 billion annually in foreign military financing, along with $500 million a year for missile defense cooperation.

The debate follows tensions during the Biden administration, when the White House paused the delivery of certain U.S. weapons to Israel in May 2024, including a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs. At the time, Netanyahu warned that Israel ‘will stand alone’ if Washington halted weapons deliveries, reflecting concern that limits or delays in U.S. military support could undermine Israel’s readiness and deterrence. 

Experts have noted that U.S. leaders have not always approved every Israeli weapons request and that roughly 70% of Israel’s military imports come from the United States, underscoring the strategic calculus behind Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recent push for greater independent production.

Golov criticized that approach, arguing it risks prioritizing optics over readiness. ‘I believe that is a short-term vision,’ Golov said. ‘In the long term, Israel must first be prepared for the next round of escalation. If we are not ready, we will face another war. If we are prepared, perhaps we can deter it.’

‘Israel must remain the strongest army in the region, and that is also a fundamental American interest,’ Golov said.

Ruhe said the debate reflects lessons learned from nearly two years of war. ‘You’ve got this sort of topsy-turvy world now where the Israelis are saying we don’t want to take any more U.S. money, and the Americans are saying, no, you’re going to take our money,’ he said.

According to Ruhe, the conflict exposed vulnerabilities created by heavy dependence on U.S. supply chains and political delays.

‘The war of the last two years showed that Israel can’t afford to be as dependent on the U.S. or continue to maintain the same defense partnership that it has because that creates a dependence,’ he said. ‘Israel becomes vulnerable to U.S. shortages in weapons output or politically motivated embargoes and holdups that can impact Israel’s readiness.’

At the same time, Ruhe noted that Israel remains reliant on the United States for major platforms.

‘Even Israel will say we’re utterly dependent on the U.S. for those big-ticket platforms,’ he said, pointing to aircraft such as the F-15 and F-35 that Israel has already committed to purchasing.

For that reason, Ruhe argued that maintaining stable funding under the next MOU may be the most practical path forward.

‘It’s actually much easier for Congress just to go ahead and approve that money,’ he said, explaining that predictable funding reduces annual political battles on Capitol Hill.

Golov said Israel’s long-term objective should not be reducing ties with Washington, but deepening them. ‘I don’t want to reduce dependency,’ he said. ‘I want to increase contribution to America.’

He described the emerging vision as a fundamental shift in how the alliance is structured. ‘We are moving from a 20th-century aid model to a 21st-century strategic merger,’ Golov said. ‘Israel is the only partner that delivers a 400% return on investment without asking for a single American soldier.’

Golov said the proposed framework is built around three pillars: an industrial defense ecosystem, a joint technology ecosystem and a regional ecosystem connecting Israeli innovation, Gulf infrastructure and American power.

He emphasized that maintaining U.S. security assistance during the transition period is critical.

‘We need a final ten-year ‘bridge’ with the current security aid MOU,’ Golov said. ‘A sudden cut would be a dangerous signal of American retreat to our enemies and may hinder IDF preparedness.’

‘I don’t know who the next president of the United States will be,’ he added. ‘This is where our enemies can read it in a very dangerous way.’


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How Does Your State Rank on This Economic Freedom Index?

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If economic freedom were a stock, analysts would call it boring — and then quietly recommend buying it anyway.

For decades, states that limit government growth, keep taxes low and predictable, and allow labor markets to adjust have outperformed their peers on jobs, incomes, and growth. This is not fashionable economics. It doesn’t promise quick fixes or dramatic announcements. It just works. And the latest Economic Freedom of North America (EFNA) data published by the Fraser Institute show that it still does.

The EFNA index evaluates states using the latest data (2023) across three simple but powerful dimensions: how much the government spends relative to income, how heavy and complex taxes are, and how flexible labor markets remain. Nothing exotic. No ideological scoring. Just the institutional rules under which people live. Those rules matter because they shape incentives. 

When government grows faster than the economy, something else must shrink. When taxes are steep or complex, labor and capital shift from production to avoidance. When labor rules make it harder for employers and employees to contract, hiring slows and labor markets soften. 

None of this shows up overnight. But it shows up reliably. You can see it in how states behave — and how people respond.

One limitation is worth acknowledging. The EFNA index measures how heavy taxes are, but not yet how complex they are. Complexity matters because it raises compliance costs, increases uncertainty, and gives large firms an advantage over workers and small businesses. 

The EFNA authors are considering ways to add complexity to the index. When added, complexity would likely reinforce the existing findings rather than overturn them.

The incentives measured by the EFNA index are clearly reflected in state outcomes. Take Vance’s home state of Texas, which ranks fourth nationally. 

Texas didn’t become an economic magnet by offering clever incentives or chasing headlines. It did it by staying boring. No personal income tax. Relatively flexible labor markets. A business climate that allowed firms to expand without asking permission. 

The result? More than two million net jobs added since 2019, and real output growth that has consistently beaten the national average.

But here’s the plot twist: Texas has stopped climbing in the rankings. Why? 

Because state and local spending started growing faster than population growth and inflation, and property taxes quietly did the rest. The Texas model still works — but the state has begun to retreat from it. 

Political economy matters here: it’s easy to defend low taxes while letting spending rise one budget at a time. The index catches that drift even when politics doesn’t.

Florida, ranked sixth, tells a similar story (with better weather and beaches).

No personal income tax and flexible labor markets have fueled population inflows, job creation, and strong GDP growth. People vote with their feet, and many are voting for Florida.

Yet Florida slipped slightly after years near the top. Not because it raised taxes, but because spending expanded rapidly during the boom. Growth makes this temptation worse. When revenues pour in, restraint feels unnecessary. The index is less forgiving. Growth can hide fiscal excess for a while. It cannot neutralize it.

https://www.datawrapper.de/_/XZuhe/

Kansas, ranked fourteenth, illustrates another lesson: stability is not acceleration. 

Kansas cleaned up its act a bit after years of fiscal whiplash and restored some predictability. Unemployment stayed relatively low. But job growth mostly tracked population growth. Why? One answer is that spending growth during surplus years offset gains from tax reform. Kansas fixed some leaks, but never fully opened the throttle.

South Carolina, ranked twenty-first, shows how local policy quietly shapes outcomes. 

At the state level, labor markets are flexible and fiscal policy is moderate. But in many counties, local spending and property taxes rose faster than population and inflation, creating pockets of drag. The result is uneven growth — strong in some regions, sluggish in others. The entrepreneurs who direct capital notice these differences even when statewide averages look fine.

Then there are Louisiana and Michigan, ranked thirty-first and thirty-second, respectively. Their stories differ, but the outcomes rhyme. 

Louisiana’s right-to-work status hasn’t overcome large government and high taxes. Michigan’s earlier reforms helped — until policy reversed. In both states, private-sector job growth lagged and output underperformed. When rules become less predictable, capital doesn’t protest. It leaves.

Importantly, the story is not uniformly negative. States such as Idaho, North Dakota, and North Carolina have combined spending restraint with durable tax and labor reforms and improved their rankings meaningfully over time. These states focused on consistency rather than one-time fixes. The payoff has been stronger job growth, rising incomes, and sustained in-migration.

Now contrast these with California, New York, and Matt’s home state of New Mexico, which sit at the bottom of the rankings. High spending. Steep and complex taxes. Rigid labor rules. The predictable response? Net domestic out-migration, slower private-sector growth, and weaker income gains — even as budgets swell.

These data reinforce the intuition that people move away from high costs and low flexibility. A common objection is that these rankings are backward-looking. That’s true — and that’s the point. Institutions don’t change outcomes instantly. The index reflects what policies actually produced, not what politicians promise next. Using 2023 data filters out press releases and captures lived reality.

Over time, the pattern is unmistakable. States that protect economic freedom experience higher incomes, stronger employment, greater mobility, and more resilience. Those states that erode it experience the opposite — usually with a lag that makes denial tempting.

From a classical-liberal perspective, none of this should be surprising. Economic freedom respects individual choice, local knowledge, and voluntary exchange. The fact that it also delivers better outcomes is not an accident. It is the market mechanism at work.

The political economy lesson is simple but uncomfortable: prosperity doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from consistently getting out of the way. Spending restraint, simple taxes, and flexible labor markets are not exciting. But they are effective.

The data keep saying the same thing. The states keep proving it. Economic freedom still wins — even when politics pretends otherwise.

(For comparison with and complement to the Fraser data, AIER’s Jason Sorens and Will Ruger compile the Freedom in the 50 States Index of Personal and Economic Freedoms.)

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Rent Money Isn’t Wasted — It Buys Protection from Big Risk

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Landlords are amazing. 

That’s perhaps a perverse, controversial statement in these Mamdani-ish times, where “free” socialist housing is all the rage. In popular imagination, landlords are rent-seeking middlemen, extracting value from shelter they did not “create,” skimming from tenants who have no alternative, riding the fiat money printer and dysfunctional zoning regulations all the way to the bank (read: overvalued housing market). 

It is a tidy morality tale. It is also mostly wrong.

Since most of us regular consumers have to live somewhere, we’re sooner or later asking ourselves whether we should own or rent our dwellings. And at dining tables with friends and extended family, the owning-vs-renting conversation often comes up. 

Most people think of paying rent as “wasted” money. It’s money straight into a landlord’s pocket that you’ll never recoup, and it’s a pure expense. At least paying down a mortgage gets you (partial, gradual) ownership of your home, a real asset. Since the (often tax-deductible) interest you’re charged is lower than the rent you’d otherwise have paid, mortgaging one’s finances to the hilt is a good idea, right?

First of all, renting vs owning is a silly dichotomy: it’s all renting. The only question is whether you’re renting money from a bank or the actual apartment from a landlord. Essentially, it’s all just a balance sheet question in your own personal finances. 

You either rent the dwelling, or you rent the out-of-thin-air money that the bank created to buy the house on your behalf. You’re either on the hook for paying rent to a landlord or on the hook for paying a bank money rent, i.e., “interest.” (With the 50-year mortgages that President Trump recently floated, there’s some sense in which you’re renting from the government, too.)

The question isn’t to rent or not to rent, but how much financial leverage you’re hungry for or willing to stomach, and how tied down you want or need to be. In a healthy housing market, it’s about specifying the exact properties (pun intended) of your living arrangements.

Dead Money and Offloaded Financial Responsibility

When you’re “buying a home,” you aren’t just forking over dough for a dwelling like any other market transaction. You are underwriting a leveraged real estate business on your own personal balance sheet! You have suppliers of physical material (builders, plumbers, maintenance, electricians) as well as financial capital (banks). You’ve got to appease the government via (often hefty) taxes, and usually a mandatory insurance company with regular premiums. In most Western housing markets, too, the money-banks-regulation-real estate industrial complex is so dysfunctional that the very expensive and tedious transaction itself might take months or years. If the market tanks, or there’s some “unpredictable” event like COVID or the 2008 Financial Crisis, you’re stuck rolling payments for years.

From the renter’s perspective, the pesky funds I hand over every month are far from “dead”; they are premiums paid to avoid large, lumpy expenses and risks to my balance sheet. I’m buying options, geographic mobility, freedom from regulatory and tax uncertainty. When the roof leaks or the boiler fails, it is not my bank balances that take a hit. When interest rates rise or property values fall, it is not my equity on the line. 

The landlord is the residual claimant: He takes all the financial risks involved in the arrangement. And while many economic risks remain hidden and invisible to a consumer unless they happen, like an insurance company, the service they provide is valuable. (Nobody would say that car insurance premiums were “wasted” just because you didn’t crash your car.)

Speaking of insurance, the landlord likely has some insurance arrangement that goes well above yours — more expensive, more coverage, more widely ranging.

Next, taxes. Most jurisdictions impose a property tax for the privilege of owning a home. While economists find them efficient (in the sense, “nondistortionary”), most people hate them. Fine, economically speaking, property taxes translate into the rent I’m paying, but a property tax is yet another thing you’d be on the hook for if you owned the home instead of just renting it. 

Last, and this is the biggest one: opportunity cost. If you own your home, you can’t really leave — unless the market, a suitable buyer, five sets of bureaucrats, a few realtors and financing requirements happen to align. I can cancel my lease with a few months’ notice, and I’m out, no questions asked. 

Financial opportunity cost is a real thing as well. You’re stuck paying into a financial product that returns you approximately the low-ish single-digit interest on your mortgage. That’s not a great savings vehicle; I’d much rather keep my surplus funds regularly dollar-cost-averaging into the stock market’s long-run return of 9.7 percent, the fantastic decade the S&P 500 just had (15 percent), gold’s steady 9 percent, or bitcoin’s 25-90 percent (adjust depending on timeframe and repeat-probability going forward). 

For thirty (or fifty) years, you’ve committed yourself to saving in a financial product that returns you only about the interest you’ve already paid on your mortgage, plus whatever few percentage points your house may appreciate going forward. True, you get the ability to cheaply go 7x long on a hard asset, but there’s hidden risk in there: everything from interest-rate sensitivity to housing market collapse. And to be frank, I’d much rather watch my unencumbered bitcoin fall 30 percent in value — which it has done many times in the past, and recovered — than try to fall asleep in my overleveraged house, suddenly underwater because the housing market fell. 

Historically, house price appreciation was quite respectable, depending on the monetary regime and timeframe, somewhere between six and eight percent, which reimburses you somewhat for your maintenance troubles. With demographic declines, uncertain economic outlooks, and plenty of threats to real estate’s outsized monetary premium on the horizon, there’s no guarantee you’ll see that sort of return again. Whereas when I’m renting a home, I can invest in whatever I please — and much more easily achieve a decent diversification should I wish to do so. (Most American households’ net wealth is locked up in illiquid housing assets.) 

Importantly, I offload all of these practical and financial troubles to someone else. They are on the financial hook for hijacking their personal balance sheet to a physical domain, nestled between a profit-hungry bank and a rapacious government. They are financially liable for maintenance, for repairs, for keeping the house in working order. 

The upside is that the owner gets to decide what, like, the bathroom redecoration looks like. Maybe build a new porch.

From the consumer’s point of view, landlords exist to absorb risks that households should be wary of carrying themselves. They borrow so I don’t have to; they lever themselves up so I can stay liquid; they hold the legacy asset while I keep the options.

Landlords of the world, I salute you for your service!

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Syntholene Energy Announces Co-Listing in the United States on OTCQB Market Under Symbol SYNTF

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Co-Listing Expands U.S. Investor Access and Visibility in World’s Largest Aviation and Capital Markets

Syntholene Energy CORP (TSXV: ESAF,OTC:SYNTF) (OTCQB: SYNTF) (FSE: 3DD0) (‘Syntholene’ or the ‘Company’) announces that its common shares have been approved for quotation and have commenced trading on the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States under the trading symbol SYNTF. The OTCQB co-listing is intended to broaden the Company’s U.S. investor audience and increase visibility within the world’s largest aviation fuel, capital markets, and energy infrastructure ecosystem.

The OTCQB Venture Market, operated by OTC Markets Group Inc., is a recognized public market in the United States designed for early-stage and developing companies that meet verified reporting and compliance standards. The Company’s primary listing remains on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ESAF.

‘Establishing a U.S. trading presence on the OTCQB is a strategically important step for Syntholene,’ stated Syntholene CEO Dan Sutton. ‘The United States represents the largest aviation market globally and a core center of capital formation for energy and infrastructure investment. Providing U.S. investors with direct access to our shares aligns our capital markets strategy with the jurisdictions driving both demand growth and project financing for synthetic fuels. We view this co-listing as a natural extension of our TSX Venture Exchange and Frankfurt listings, as well as an important foundation for long-term engagement with U.S. institutional, strategic, and retail investors.’

Syntholene believes the OTCQB quotation enhances the Company’s visibility and accessibility in the United States at a time when policy support for sustainable aviation fuel and synthetic fuels is accelerating. U.S. federal and state initiatives, including tax credits, grant programs, and offtake support mechanisms under the Inflation Reduction Act and related Department of Energy and Department of Transportation programs, are driving increased investment into next-generation fuel production infrastructure.

About Syntholene

Syntholene is actively commercializing its novel Hybrid Thermal Production System for low-cost clean fuel synthesis. The target output is ultrapure synthetic jet fuel, manufactured at 70% lower cost than the nearest competing technology today. The company’s mission is to deliver the world’s first truly high-performance, low-cost, and carbon-neutral synthetic fuel at an industrial scale, unlocking the potential to produce clean synthetic fuel at lower cost than fossil fuels, for the first time.

Syntholene’s power-to-liquid strategy harnesses thermal energy to power proprietary integrations of hydrogen production and fuel synthesis. Syntholene has secured 20MW of dedicated energy to support the Company’s upcoming demonstration facility and commercial scale-up.

Founded by experienced operators across advanced energy infrastructure, nuclear technology, low-emissions steel refining, process engineering, and capital markets, Syntholene aims to be the first team to deliver a scalable modular production platform for cost-competitive synthetic fuel, thus accelerating the commercialization of carbon-neutral eFuels across global markets.

For further information, please contact:
Dan Sutton, CEO
comms@syntholene.com 
www.syntholene.com
+1 608-305-4835

Investor Relations
KIN Communications Inc.
604-684-6730
ESAF@kincommunications.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words ‘expect’, ‘anticipate’, ‘aims’, ‘continue’, ‘estimate’, ‘objective’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘project’, ‘should’, ‘believe’, ‘plans’, ‘intends’ and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, including but not limited to statements regarding the development and intended benefits of the Company’s technology, commercial scalability, technical and economic viability, anticipated geothermal power availability, anticipated benefit of eFuel, and future commercial opportunities, are forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company, including without limitation the assumption that the Company will be able to execute its business plan, that the eFuel will have its expected benefits, that there will be market adoption, and that the Company will be able to access financing as needed to fund its business plan. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties.

Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks, including, without limitation, Syntholene’s ability to meet production targets, realize projected economic benefits, overcome technical challenges, secure financing, maintain regulatory compliance, manage geopolitical risks, and successfully negotiate definitive terms. Syntholene does not undertake any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Readers are advised to exercise caution and not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Corporate Logo

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282096

News Provided by TMX Newsfile via QuoteMedia

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Homeland Nickel: Building a US-focused Nickel Portfolio

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Homeland Nickel (TSXV:SHL,OTC: SRCGF) is a Canada-based mineral exploration company targeting critical metals, with a strategic focus on nickel laterite projects in southern Oregon, USA. Recognized as a critical mineral by the US government, nickel underpins Homeland Nickel’s strategy as the company advances assets in what it views as the only US region with the scale and geology capable of supporting a significant domestic nickel supply.

The company has built a portfolio of nine nickel laterite projects originally identified during exploration programs carried out between the 1950s and 1970s. The deposits occur as near-surface laterite lenses formed through the weathering of ultramafic rocks, allowing for efficient surface sampling and auger drilling to quickly delineate mineral resources. This geological setting enables Homeland Nickel to advance multiple projects in parallel while maintaining a cost-effective exploration approach.

Location map of Homeland NickelLocation map of the Cleopatra Nickel property

Alongside project consolidation and exploration, Homeland Nickel also holds a portfolio of mining equities in publicly listed companies. Management considers this portfolio a strategic asset that enhances financial flexibility and offers potential non-dilutive funding opportunities, supporting a disciplined capital allocation strategy as the company progresses its nickel assets through resource definition and technical evaluation.

Company Highlights

  • Controls nine nickel laterite projects in Southern Oregon — Cleopatra, Red Flat, Eight Dollar Mountain, Woodcock Mountain, Josephine Creek, Iron Mountain, Peavine Mountain, Rough & Ready and Free & Easy — representing the most comprehensive consolidation of historically identified US nickel laterite occurrences
  • Historic resources at Cleopatra (39.5 Mt @ 0.93 percent nickel) and Red Flat (18.8 Mt @ 0.84 percent nickel) provide an advanced starting point with significant expansion potential
  • At-surface nickel laterite mineralization supports rapid, low-cost exploration and resource definition compared to underground nickel sulfide projects
  • Strategic partnerships with Patriot Nickel (property option) and Brazilian Nickel (ore processing) support advancement toward development while limiting shareholder dilution
  • Maintains a portfolio of publicly traded mining equities, providing financial flexibility and optionality to support exploration and development programs

This Homeland Nickel profile is part of a paid investor education campaign.*

Click here to connect with Homeland Nickel (TSXV:SHL) to receive an Investor Presentation

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Homeland Nickel

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Investor Insight

Homeland Nickel combines a consolidated portfolio of nine at-surface nickel laterite projects in Southern Oregon with a strategic portfolio of mining equities, offering investors leveraged exposure to domestic US nickel development alongside balance-sheet flexibility and reduced dilution risk.

Overview

Homeland Nickel (TSXV:SHL,OTC:SRCGF) is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on critical metals, with a primary emphasis on nickel laterite projects in Southern Oregon, USA. Nickel has been designated a critical mineral by the US government, and Homeland Nickel is advancing assets in what it considers the only region in the United States with the geological scale and characteristics required to support a meaningful domestic nickel supply.

Map showing Homeland Nickel

The company has assembled a portfolio of nine nickel laterite projects that were originally identified during exploration campaigns conducted from the 1950s through the 1970s. These deposits occur as at-surface laterite lenses formed by the weathering of ultramafic rocks, enabling the use of surface sampling and auger drilling to rapidly define mineral resources. This geological setting allows Homeland Nickel to advance multiple projects efficiently while managing exploration costs.

In parallel with asset consolidation and exploration, Homeland Nickel maintains a portfolio of mining equities in publicly traded companies. Management views this portfolio as a strategic asset that provides additional financial flexibility and potential non-dilutive funding options, supporting a disciplined capital allocation strategy as the company advances its nickel projects through resource definition and technical studies.

Company Highlights

  • Controls nine nickel laterite projects in Southern Oregon — Cleopatra, Red Flat, Eight Dollar Mountain, Woodcock Mountain, Josephine Creek, Iron Mountain, Peavine Mountain, Rough & Ready and Free & Easy — representing the most comprehensive consolidation of historically identified US nickel laterite occurrences
  • Historic resources at Cleopatra (39.5 Mt @ 0.93 percent nickel) and Red Flat (18.8 Mt @ 0.84 percent nickel) provide an advanced starting point with significant expansion potential
  • At-surface nickel laterite mineralization supports rapid, low-cost exploration and resource definition compared to underground nickel sulfide projects
  • Strategic partnerships with Patriot Nickel (property option) and Brazilian Nickel (ore processing) support advancement toward development while limiting shareholder dilution
  • Maintains a portfolio of publicly traded mining equities, providing financial flexibility and optionality to support exploration and development programs

Key Projects

Cleopatra Project

The Cleopatra project is Homeland Nickel’s flagship asset and hosts a historical mineral resource of 39.5 Mt grading 0.93 percent nickel. Mineralization occurs at surface and has historically only been explored to shallow depths (about 12 feet), leaving the deposit open at depth and along strike.

Location map of Homeland Nickel

Location map of the Cleopatra Nickel property

Cleopatra is one of two projects optioned to Patriot Nickel under a staged earn-in agreement that includes cash payments, exploration expenditures and advancement to pre-feasibility. Homeland Nickel remains the operator during the exploration phase, retains a 20 percent interest in the Cleopatra project and receives a 20 percent equity interest in Patriot.

Red Flat Project

The Red Flat project is located approximately 12 kilometres inland from Gold Beach, Oregon, and hosts a historical resource of 18.8 Mt grading 0.84 percent nickel. Historical trenching and drilling indicate thick laterite horizons with consistent nickel grades.

Homeland Nickel

Red Flat is accessible via gravel road.

The project has received a Surface Use Determination from the US Forest Service approving a proposed sonic drilling program, subject to a National Environmental Policy Act review. Homeland Nickel plans to update the historical resource and evaluate potential expansion through additional drilling and sampling.

Eight Dollar Mountain Project

The Eight Dollar Mountain project lies within the same ultramafic geological belt as Cleopatra and Red Flat. Surface sampling has returned nickel values of up to 2.2 percent nickel, highlighting the project’s high-grade potential. The property consists of 115 mining claims covering an area of 2,376 acres.

Eight Dollar Mountain is included in the option agreement with Patriot Nickel, with work planned to support an initial mineral resource estimate.

Woodcock Mountain Project

The Woodcock Mountain project covers more than 900 acres and has been identified by the United States Geological Survey as hosting significant nickel laterite mineralization. Historical work has reported grades up to 1.5 percent nickel over 15 feet and values as high as 2.13 percent nickel along a three-kilometre trend.

The project is located outside withdrawn land areas, and Homeland Nickel plans to advance surface sampling and auger drilling to define an initial mineral resource.

Josephine Creek Project

The Josephine Creek project, adjacent to Woodcock Mountain, was staked based on historic nickel laterite exposures. Sampling completed in 2025 returned an average grade of 0.73 percent nickel, with 10 of 82 samples grading 1 percent nickel or higher. The property consists of 174 lode mining claims covering an area of 1,455 acres.

Josephine Creek was sampled by the company in 2025 with 74 samples over 22 individual mining claims returning an average of 0.75 percent nickel with 10 samples grading over 1 percent nickel. The property benefits from proximity to infrastructure and further work is planned in 2026 to support an initial resource estimate.

Rough and Ready

The most recently acquired property, Rough and Ready, has seen extensive surface sampling, auger hole drilling and pit excavations to expose good grade nickel laterite over a wide area. Homeland Nickel will review the extensive data acquired with this project and will sample all claims for nickel during a summer 2026 exploration program.

Iron Mountain, Peavine Mountain and Free & Easy Projects

Homeland Nickel has also staked nickel laterite claims at Iron Mountain, Peavine Mountain and Free & Easy, expanding its portfolio to a total of eight projects. These earlier-stage assets provide additional pipeline depth and optionality as the company advances its more mature projects.

Mining Equities Portfolio

In addition to its wholly owned exploration assets, Homeland Nickel holds a portfolio of publicly traded mining equities, including positions in Canada Nickel Company, Noble Mineral Exploration, Benton Resources, Vinland Lithium and Magna Terra Minerals. This portfolio provides financial flexibility and potential non-dilutive funding options, supporting the company’s exploration strategy while offering exposure to value creation beyond its own project pipeline.

Management Team

Stephen Balch — President, CEO and Director

Stephen Balch is an Ontario-registered geoscientist with over 40 years of experience in mineral exploration, including nearly three decades focused on nickel. His background spans nickel, copper and platinum-group element exploration across major mining jurisdictions, including experience with Inco Limited, FNX Mining, Noront and Voiseys Bay Nickel. He has more than 20 years of public company leadership experience as a CEO, president, technical consultant and director. In 2001, he joined Aeroquest Limited and helped develop the AeroTEM airborne geophysical system, and in 2019 co-founded Canada Nickel Company, where he currently serves as VP Exploration.

Ashley Nadon — Chief Financial Officer

Ashley Nadon is a chartered professional accountant with a BA in Economics and an MBA. She provides consulting and accounting services to private and public companies as the managing director of a chartered professional accounting firm. Nadon brings experience as a CFO of several reporting issuers and currently serves as CFO for Kermode Resources.

Errol Farr — Corporate Secretary

Errol Farr is a seasoned financial professional with more than 35 years of experience in financial management, reporting, business optimization and strategy development. He previously served as CFO of Anaconda Mining, and currently holds senior executive roles including CFO, COO and corporate secretary of Zonetail, CFO of Big Tree Carbon and CFO/corporate secretary of AFR NuVenture Resources, a mining exploration company with US projects.

Vance White — Director

Vance White has over five decades of experience in guiding mineral exploration companies. He has served as president, CEO and director of Noble Mineral Exploration since 2003 and has held director and officer positions with multiple public companies in the mining sector.

Michael Dehn — Director

Michael Dehn is a partner at Avanti Management and Consulting with more than 21 years in the mining industry. He has served as a director of publicly listed and private junior mining companies and is currently president and CEO of Temas Resources and United Lithium. He has been a director of the company’s predecessor since December 2020.

Birks Bovaird — Director

Birks Bovaird is chair of the board of Energy Fuels, a uranium and vanadium mining and development company, and serves as a director of Noble Mineral Exploration. His career has focused on corporate financial consulting and strategic planning, including serving as vice-president of corporate finance at a major Canadian accounting firm. He holds an ICD.D designation and is a graduate of the Canadian Director Education Program.

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Gold Breaks US$5,500, Crypto Consolidates as Investors Battle Inner Recession

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Main Street investors are grappling with emotionally driven investment decisions, which could pose a greater financial threat than the market downturn that Wall Street is predicting.

That’s according to an exclusive survey conducted by MarketWise.

“This kind of disconnect suggests investors are riding performance momentum and bracing for volatility. This type of setup often leads to sharper pullbacks when sentiment eventually turns.’

The study was conducted on December 11, 2025. The responses, gathered from 1,004 investors across various demographics, reveal heightened anxiety as recession fears linger.

Asset allocations: Cash reigns, crypto cowers

This emotional undercurrent is manifesting starkly in portfolios, where safety trumps speculation.

The MarketWise survey shows that cash still dominates, with 86 percent of investors participating with an average US$626 monthly allocation. Fifty-five percent deem it the safest asset overall.

In stark contrast, crypto attracts just 35 percent participation at a meager US$92 monthly average.

“Crypto is no longer the ‘Wild West,’ but investor confidence hasn’t caught up to regulatory clarity. Fifty-four percent of investors say crypto is the asset class they’re most cautious about, and 56 percent see it as the most volatile despite reporting rules and oversight expanding,” said Royal.

Gold and commodities drew optimism from 44 percent overall, with that amount rising to 47 percent among Millennials. This sentiment aligns with the metal’s recent record surge past US$5,500 per ounce on safe-haven bids.

Stocks remain broad at 69 percent participation with an average monthly contribution of US$320; however, caution prevails for 46 percent of those surveyed, who said they feel “fearful” about stocks in 2026, mirroring 47 percent real estate wariness, despite a 23 percent holding.

Generational anxiety divide

Recession fears loom large, with three-quarters of respondents anticipating a 2026 downturn — yet 46 percent admit financial unreadiness. This number rises to 54 percent for those earning under US$75,000.

“Investor sentiment explains why panic-driven behavior persists, such as 18 percent of investors reporting that doomscrolling has already pushed them into a rushed investment decision,” Royal noted.

Forty-three percent of respondents predict emotional investing will harm their performance, while 45 percent have paused markets for mental health and 46 percent let economic and geopolitical headlines sway feelings.

“The mental tax of investing is becoming tough to ignore,” Royal added.

“Half of American investors check their portfolios at least once a day (with 9 percent doing so five or more times per day), and 51 percent feel investment stress at least monthly.”

This intensifies among youth. Sixty-one percent of Gen Z report acute investment stress, and 36 percent feel it daily or weekly, far above the average. Fear of missing out, or ‘FOMO,’ drives 17 percent of Gen Z decisions, with 42 percent overall somewhat or often impacted, highlighting impulsive trends among youth.

Meanwhile, 36 percent of Gen Z plan safety shifts versus 29 percent broadly. Millennials show parallel vulnerabilities: 21 percent admit doomscrolling panic, and 11 percent check portfolios frequently.

“Even solid fundamentals can get drowned out by headlines when investors are this emotionally fatigued. Of course, that’s when discipline matters most,” explained Royal.

Coping strategies lean toward rationality: 34 percent remind themselves markets move in cycles, and 20 percent research more to regain control. Older generations appear to show more restraint. Baby Boomers and Gen X report lower stress, with 49 percent overall “rarely” or “never” stressed versus Gen Z’s 61 percent. This generational divide — youth FOMO versus elder discipline — underscores the emotional paralysis among younger investors.

Market behavior mirrors this anxiety: 2025 Google searches for “stock market crash” hit 1.72 million, far outpacing “bull market” searches at 262,000. “Crypto crash” drew 392,000 hits, reinforcing the survey’s fear-driven sentiment.

Investor takeaway

As the gold price hits record highs and the cryptocurrency sector lags, MarketWise’s survey proves the real 2026 battle isn’t markets — it’s mastering the emotions driving them.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Crypto Wallets Move Beyond Trading to Become Primary Interface for Everyday Finance

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Crypto wallets are rapidly evolving from simple asset storage tools into sophisticated financial operating systems, increasingly serving as the primary interface for everyday financial activity on-chain.

That’s the central thesis of a new research report from Bitget Wallet. In it, the firm argues that as blockchain adoption matures, user behavior is shifting away from episodic, market-driven trading toward repeatable financial activities such as payments, savings and asset management, positioning the wallet at the center of a new financial era in 2026.

This structural shift sees wallets consolidating functions once spread across traditional exchanges, banks and standalone decentralized applications. Payments, trading, yield and privacy are now handled through a single, user-owned interface as cryptocurrencies begin to function more like everyday money.

This maturation is quantifiable: stablecoin on-chain transaction volume reached about US$33 trillion in 2025, with global stablecoin supply growing more than 50 percent to over US$300 billion. Furthermore, spending across major crypto card programs rose 525 percent year-on-year, underscoring a clear transition toward real-world financial use.

The BitGet Wallet report details eight structural trends defining this new phase of on-chain finance.

1. Payments expansion and invisible settlement

Stablecoins are evolving from a gray-zone asset into an invisible, programmable global settlement infrastructure, integrated into cross-border and local instant payment systems and card networks. Wallets function as multi-currency routing hubs, handling conversions and optimizing paths, increasingly using ‘PayFi’ models where held capital automatically earns on-chain yield during payment cycles.

2. The rise of agentic commerce

The artificial intelligence (AI) economy is moving toward machines as autonomous economic actors. Protocols like x402 enable AI agents to transact automatically for data and services by embedding stablecoin payments in HTTP requests.

As this shifts the security focus from know your customer to know your agent (KYA), wallets are becoming unified funding, risk control and KYA enforcement hubs for both people and their authorized agents.

3. Privacy as core infrastructure

Privacy is now essential for scalable on-chain finance. With the Ethereum Foundation prioritizing it, privacy must be built into the infrastructure. Wallets are emerging as the main privacy boundary, managing transactions and on-chain data access to balance trust, usability and compliance without revealing full balances or behaviors.

4. On-chain credit evolves from collateral to reputation

DeFi is shifting from overcollateralized lending to models based on behavioral trust. Continuous on-chain activity, including recurring payments and cash management, generates behavioral signals for dynamic risk assessment. Wallets can aggregate these cross-chain, time-based behaviors to create a behavioral credit layer, translating consistent activity into better permissions and reduced friction, thus building durable financial relationships.

5. Market rebalancing and RWA derivatives

Real-world assets (RWAs) are evolving past simple tokenization toward perpetual and synthetic exposure.

With regulatory clarity and a sizeable increase in tokenized RWA value, reaching US$37.7 billion in 2025, attention is shifting to trading. Synthetic RWA derivatives and perpetual decentralized exchanges (Perp DEXs) are emerging, facilitating price exposure to nearly any asset with a reliable feed, and turning wallets into cross-market portfolio allocation gateways.

6. Perp DEXs and wallet-native trading

Decentralized perpetual markets grew significantly in 2025, with monthly turnover surpassing US$1 trillion at times. This brought on-chain perpetuals close to 20 percent of centralized derivatives volume.

Wallets are increasingly becoming the main trading platform, integrating execution, context and portfolio management, replacing standalone trading venues.

7. Prediction markets as tradable information

Prediction markets have become key financial infrastructure, with annual volumes over US$40 billion.

They now convert real-world events, like sports or elections, into tradable probability signals containing asymmetric information. Wallets are transforming into event-driven financial interfaces, making it easier for users to express views and manage risk based on these outcomes.

8. Memecoins as an onboarding vector

Memecoins, despite driving new wallet downloads and trading, offer inconsistent liquidity.

As the market matures, wallets are adding advanced tools like address clustering and relationship analysis to help users better understand the emotion, momentum and capital flows of meme trading, aiming to convert speculative activity into sustainable financial behavior.

Investor takeaway

“Crypto is increasingly being used for everyday financial activity,” said Bitget Wallet CMO Jamie Elkaleh.

Elkaleh also noted that Bitget Wallet has embraced this shift, strategically aligning its product architecture around payments and cash management with its unified Pay hub that combines crypto cards, QR payments and bank transfers alongside yield and trading features.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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