As most of our clients and regular readers surely know, at BFI Bullion, we have been closely following and frequently writing about the developments in the ongoing and spreading war on cash. We see this issue as extremely important for all investors and savers, as it has the potential to forcibly remove the last remnants of control people still have over their own money. To be sure, fiat money is certainly vulnerable, corruptible and can by no means be relied upon for long-term value preservation. However, physical cash can at least offer some semblance of independence and privacy, as well as some protection from government overreach.

At the end of November, we came across a very interesting interview by Tucker Carlson, that included many important points and warnings for gold investors, especially Americans. Carlson and his guest, Chris Olson of Battalion Metals, covered many gold-related topics, but what really grabbed our attention was their detailed discussion of the many dangers and traps that lie in the Gold IRA industry, a drum we have been beating loudly in the recent issues of our Digger.

When we started putting the plans together for BFI Bullion’s strategy moving into 2025, it was clear this year was going to be a BIG year. The tools were falling into place for us to be a leader in secure, transparent, and innovative physical bullion investing and storage for our clients. Now, as we look back at the jam-packed year that 2025 was, we are reminded how far we have come, and how far we can go in 2026.

As we enjoy doing every year, we send our BFI Christmas wishes direct from the Swiss mountains! Another year is coming to an end, and the Christmas and New Years’ holidays are again upon us. For all of us at the BFI Capital Group it has been a year of rapid growth and quite a few adjustments.

AI has completely grabbed our attention, having dominated financial news and market analyses for some time already. Ever since OpenAI launched its first version of ChatGPT, the new technology has taken the world by storm, spawning numerous competitors and countless different applications. From chip producers to data centers and the energy sector, all have become core parts of the outlook and the debate over the future and impact of the nascent sector.

Global markets are defying conventional wisdom and historical patterns, as asset classes from equities to commodities are rallying in unison. This represents a rare and very telling signal of deeper economic imbalances. Beneath the surface of this “everything rally” lies growing investor fatigue with fiat currencies and a flight toward real assets.

For decades Germany has been the emblem of fiscal prudence in Europe, rejecting reckless spending and borrowing to keep its finances in order. It was Germany that preached discipline and austerity at a time when the indebted South put the EU project at risk. Today, the nation is stepping onto an entirely new path sharply contradicting its past record. What this means for taxpayers, savers and the broader Euro area should not be underestimated.

At a time where economic uncertainty looms large - thanks to geopolitical tensions and inflationary pressures, amongst others – investors have turned to tangible assets like physical gold and silver for stability. However, with the increase in popularity also comes an increase in unscrupulous characters offering questionable bars and coins, and counterfeiting has become a greater concern more than ever. Enter Primorum™, a new, groundbreaking premium bullion product line offered by BFI Bullion in strategic cooperation with other industry leaders.

In mid-September, Morgan Stanley Chief Investment Officer Mike Wilson surprised a lot of investors and market observers by announcing a shift in the bank’s strategic thinking. Radically reassessing the traditional “rule of thumb” of asset allocation, the CIO now recommends a 60/20/20 portfolio strategy that includes 20% in gold. He highlighted that this offers a more resilient inflation hedge at a time when US equities are offering historically low upside over Treasuries and investors are demanding higher yields for long-term bonds.

BFI Bullion is proud to announce we have just been accepted as a member of the ASFCMP, a not-for-profit private association that represents the Swiss precious metals industry. The association is now comprised of 16 members that all work in the processing or trade of precious metals in Switzerland. And, if that weren’t enough, we also want to welcome two new Board Members by introducing them to you today. Exciting news!

Over the last few years, we have seen deep uncertainties and fluctuations in global currency markets. Geopolitical developments, ongoing risks and conflicts, as well as extremely worrying economic and monetary trends have been driving investors to seek refuge in alternative assets. Gold has benefited massively from this generalized turbulence, but cryptocurrencies have also emerged as a compelling contender, with Bitcoin in particular seeing impressive gains and capturing the attention of retail and institutional investors alike.

Gold has been on a meteoric rise for quite some time now – over 90% gains in 5 years – and thanks to these gains, it has gone from being an “old man’s investment” to the “hot ticket”. This surge in popularity, however, just as with any product that enjoys significant market demand or high value, has also attracted the attention of bad actors of all sorts and counterfeiters in particular. Fake bars and coins are nothing new, of course, but what is new are the methods being used and the quality of the fakes, which is now much higher than what we used to see in the past. Trying to keep pace with the counterfeiters is not an easy task for any company operating in the metals industry, but as we’ll explain in this article, at BFI Bullion, we have good reasons to remain confident in our ability to remain a step ahead.

With institutional investors pulling back, political pressure mounting on the Federal Reserve, and alternative assets gaining renewed interest, the cracks in the greenback’s long-held dominance have become impossible to ignore. While it is too early to consider the US Dollar’s fate sealed, its future is indeed very uncertain.

In March, the European Commission introduced a major new initiative, claiming it as game-changing for the bloc’s growth and global competitiveness. President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the “Savings and Investment Union” (SIU), a plan that’s aimed at harnessing fresh capital—primarily from private sources—to fund strategic investments across Europe. The EU has been struggling for long time with inadequate public funding that fails to cover its chronically excess spending, as was highlighted in a report by Mario Draghi in September 2024. The bloc is estimated to need an annual investment of 750-800 billion euros by 2030 to modernize its economy, to pay for all its ambitious plans and initiatives, and to maintain its foundational socioeconomic model. The former chief of the European Central Bank warned that the current path the EU is on is one of “managed and gradual decline” that is “condemning itself to a slow agony”, and unless something changes, the Union is very likely to suffer long term economic stagnation, as well as serious challenges in terms of geopolitical relevance, security and independence.

On April 28, the entire Iberian Peninsula experienced the most extensive and severe blackouts in Europe’s living memory. Much of Spain, Portugal and the south of France were plunged into darkness for over ten hours. Thousands of train and metro passengers were left trapped for hours, and millions were left without phone or internet coverage.

Through his new bill, Florida Governor DeSantis wants Floridians to be able to use physical gold and silver as an official means of payment by making them legal tender. The bill, as DeSantis labelled it, is a move to protect residents from the growing fiscal uncertainty in the US and a weakening US dollar, stating “this is our ability to give you financial freedom to be able to protect yourself again the declining value of the dollar”.

Finding one’s way through the current financial landscape feels a lot like trying to climb the Matterhorn without a knowledgeable Swiss guide. For wealthy families, the stakes are even higher as complex portfolios not only span different investments (stocks, real estate, crypto, gold), but also different jurisdictions. As reported in our last post, today’s markets demand agility, clarity, and control, which is where BFI Consulting is stepping in with their modern asset reporting system.

A lot has changed in our economic, geopolitical and financial environment over the last decade. Extreme political shifts and conflicts, de-globalization, central bank interventionism, escalating public and private debt, and almost incessant global crises of one kind or another have radically changed the rules of investing, especially in the last few years. Purely macroeconomic-focused or long-term oriented investment approaches simply do not work as well as they used to and much more dynamic, hands-on and responsive strategies are called for.

For centuries, gold has served as a reliable store of value and it has functioned as a universally recognized medium of exchange, especially when all other alternatives falter. More relevantly to modern investors, however, it has consistently proven itself to be the most dependable hedge against inflation and currency devaluation, against market crashes and economic crises, and against geopolitical turmoil and uncertainty. We’ve seen this repeatedly confirmed since time immemorial, but over the last few years it has become blatantly obvious and objectively undeniable

Donald Trump’s return to the global political forefront as the 47th US President came after a tumultuous and very eventful campaign and signified a decisive gear shift for American politics. As he made abundantly clear in his inaugural speech and as he demonstrated in the first months of his presidency, he is committed to reversing most of the signature policies of his predecessor. He proved as much by signing dozens of Executive Orders and rescinding 78 of former President Joe Biden’s within hours of the transition. By now, it is clear that the country is set to return to many of its pre-2020 goals and priorities, especially when it comes to immigration, economic and social policies, foreign relations and economic cooperation strategies.