SILVER 'Just Waking Up' – $300+ In Play For 2026: Andy Schectman
Summary
Silver Bullish Case: Guest argues silver is in the early stages of a powerful bull market, with dips as buying opportunities and potential for explosive repricing due to long-term suppression.
Structural Supply Deficit: Silver’s sixth year of deficit, combined with sticky military and industrial demand (AI, energy, infrastructure), is cited as a key driver of higher prices.
Gold’s Remonetization: Central banks are treating gold as a neutral reserve asset with no counterparty or sanction risk, supporting its rising role and reserve status.
Geopolitical Hedge: War with Iran is framed as bullish for precious metals via uncertainty, inflation, debt, and loss of confidence, while pressuring the dollar and bonds.
Physical vs. Paper: Unprecedented COMEX deliveries and metal leaving the exchange suggest robust physical demand, with media ignoring these signals amid alleged “glitches.”
Policy Tailwinds: Silver’s critical mineral designation and Project Vault’s strategic stockpile and price floors aim to incentivize domestic mining and underpin prices.
Gold-Backed Stablecoins: Tether’s large gold accumulation and XAUT growth highlight rising adoption, offering digital portability for gold but posing CBDC-like surveillance risks via regulated rails.
Portfolio Positioning: References to Bank of America and Morgan Stanley strategists advocating higher precious metals allocations reinforce the view that the metals bull market is still early.
Transcript
Hello everybody and welcome into commodity culture where we break down commodities markets, sound money principles and geopolitics all with the goal of making you a better investor in the commodities sector. My name is Jesse Day. Today is March 10th, 2026 and on this episode I'm thrilled to welcome Andy Sheckchman to the program, an expert in the gold and silver space and the president of Miles Franklin Precious Metals. Andy remains fiercely bullish on silver despite the runup in prices and believes any dip is a potential buying opportunity as he believes that far from reaching its peak, the metal has just woken up and could go to over $300 by the end of the year. Andy also breaks down the potential effects of the war in Iran on precious metals markets. Why gold back stable coins could be a Trojan horse for central bank digital currencies. what these obscene levels of wartime spending could do to the US economy and so much more. So, strap yourselves in for my conversation with Andy Sheckchman. Andy Sheckchman, great to have you back on Commodity Culture. I want to kick things off by getting your thoughts on how gold and silver have reacted so far to the war with Iran. We saw both metals along with related equities sell off somewhat. Nothing major as we sit here today. Gold now above 5,200, silver at around $89 an ounce, assuming this continues to expand. How do you anticipate this conflict in the Middle East affecting precious metals prices? >> Um, I think that typically the market gets the first move wrong. Uh, we all expect, everyone expects the price to take off. my my old friend, God rest his soul, Jim Sinclair, used to say mope, management of perception economics, that every time we've gone to war since the the uh the first Gulf War in the '9s, they knock the price down to manage expectations. We're told that it's liquidity management, that gold and silver are liquid, and so they're sold first. But I don't believe that to be true. I think it's more managing the perception of what's happening. But look, um I think if if the war expands, it does become a massive catalyst for both gold and silver because it drives things that that metals love most. Um uncertainty, loss of confidence, inflation, debt. Gold is real money. And I think that if it were me, um I wouldn't be shaken by a pullback at all. I'd see this as a market giving you one more chance because the amount of deliveries that we've seen over the past 16 months tell you that the most well-informed traders in the world who have been front running all of this understand where the puck is going. Just like Wayne Gretzky never skated to the puck, he skated to where it's going. And they're telling you through their deliveries nonstop, which the media has missed completely and totally um that this is just beginning, that this is not the end of the bull market for gold and silver. >> Now, is the mainstream missing it or they intentionally misleading people? Because I was having this conversation recently that the mainstream media has missed out on this whole bull run in precious metals. when they did mention it, it was often in snide remarks to say why you should be cautious about investing in gold and silver, why it's highly speculative. If we take the view of conspiracy theorists, which at this point I think we all have to become conspiracy theorists considering everything that's going on in the world, the Epstein files, etc. There is potentially a conspiracy of governments trying to stop people from understanding that gold and silver is money. That's through price manipulation. That's through the sort of volatility like we saw after silver ran up to well over $100 an ounce. 26% drop in a single trading day. There's some speculation that comx circuit breakers were start supposed to trigger but didn't. That's a whole other conversation. But alongside with that, you have the media not paying any attention to many major events that are going on in the precious metal sector. Do you think this is all by design? >> Yeah, the the the circuit breakers don't trigger twice on the downside. It's a glitch. And twice on the upside, there's an overheating of a server on Thanksgiving evening, right at 11:00 at night. Everyone's trading right on Thanksgiving. Uh and then it does it again uh just last week where, you know, there they threw natural gas into the the mix so that the natural gas and the metals market glitched again and silver opened back up four hours later, $4 down. And then you know you go back and and see how they did that during Thanksgiving day or evening when they did the same thing prices were flying and then they knock it down. They for 11 hours the market is closed saying oh the the servers overheated of the thousand commodities they trade. It just so happened that the metals market servers overheated. Forget about the triple redundancy these server farms have. But yeah uh it it it was a glitch. four glitches since Thanksgiving and we're supposed to believe that's random and okay. There is a fine line between conspiracy and reality. And you're damn right, Jesse. They missed the biggest thing. Period. Yeah. If Reuters calling silver devil's metal, it's always in a negative light. What they've missed is that the most well-informed and wellunded traders on the planet, those here in New York, for 16 straight months have stood for delivery at levels nobody has ever seen before. Nobody. And it's not just the delivery. A lot of it's leaving the exchange. The this should have been front and center news uh for the February delivery, which is a non um it's it's it's not a primary delivery month. And I'll get the numbers pretty close, but roughly 25 million ounces were delivered, which would been one of the smaller delivery months over the last 16 where it's averaged between 30 and 70 million ounces delivered. Billions every month. 25 million ounces delivered into the COMX. 38 million ounces leave Comx 160% of what was delivered which would which would be able to explain what left 160% left of what deliveries would explain alone. In other words, who the hell is standing for delivery and then moving 39 million ounces out of the com mix? Literally moving it out. If a mint box of of silver eagles weighs 42 lbs, it's 500 ounces. Who's moving 39 million? Is there a coincidence? And and talk about media framing things poorly? Does anyone in the mainstream even know that silver was classified a critical mineral for national security last month? That they've decided through Project Vault, which no one knows about, to build a strategic stockpile and to put state sponsor price floors underneath this the price of of critical minerals like silver and platinum to incentivize domestic mining. None of this stuff is talked about, only the negative stuff. So, you're right. There is a very fine line between conspiracy and reality. And they want everyone to believe that you and I and the people that you talk to are nuts. But yet, we've been proven right over and over and over and over again. Yet, the mainstream won't acknowledge the the journalistic integrity that that we all grew up thinking was real is dead and is gone. And you're far more a mainstream journalist than anything we'll find on Fox or CNBC or any of the other mainstreams because you have the courage not only to to say these things to your guests, but the way you just said it is poignant and real and true. And you're damn right. This is uh this is being kept from us not only by misdirecting with price, but misdirecting with rhetoric and and information 100%. Something you've discussed on this show is the amount of silver needed for military applications and of course not to mention all the other industrial uses for the metal. We are in the sixth year of a supply deficit of silver according to the silver institute. How much do you think this industrial and military need for silver could affect the demand side here and what will that do to prices? >> Yeah, silver is absolutely needed for defense systems, for aerospace, for communications, for advanced electronics. So the military side matters because it's not optional demand, period. They're not going to stop buying it because it went up 20 bucks. They're going to secure what they need. And and the same thing is true with industrial demand. It's sticky. It's critical. It's not the kind of demand that just disappears overnight. Um it's it's strategic as we were just told. that is now a strategic metal necessary for not only national security, which would be military demand, but industrial demand as well. AI, energy, infrastructure, they're all drawing from the same little pool of supply. So, according to the the Silver Institute, we're now in our sixth year of structural deficit. Then at some point, doesn't price have to rise to to to meet reality? Um, and I would argue in in an asset like silver, which is um the one metal that the world really needs and is burning through as if it's abundant. Um, that repricing won't be orderly. It'll be explosive because it's been held down for so long. And now the the reality is that physical demand is far more important than paper promises. And you're beginning to see that through the deliveries across the globe. The sponsor of today's episode is Arc Silver Gold Osmium. Owner Ian Everard is praised even by his competitors as one of the most honest and level-headed bullion dealers in the United States. They have some great prices. You can see some of them displayed right now on screen. Take advantage of these specials today by reaching out to Ian at 3072649441 or by email at ianarchsg.com. Make sure to tell them of course that Commodity Culture sent you. And now back to the interview. Now you mentioned prices needing to rise. You've been incredibly bullish on silver since I first started talking to you on this show. You've called it a generational opportunity. Your words prove prophetic as we saw the tremendous runup to tripledigit silver. But at these prices, because I've spoken to some people, in fact, I spoke to um Jordan Rushi from Mining Stock Monkey recently. He said silver scares him right now because of how far and how fast it's moved in such a short time. Are you still seeing a large amount of upside ahead? And if you had to venture a guess, where do you think silver will be at the end of 2026? >> Silver at these prices is not the end of the move at all to me. In fact, it's it's proof that the market's waking up. Uh you have what is his name? Just a second. There is um what's his name? The Michael Whitmer, Bank of America's head of metal research, says silver could reach anywhere between 135 and 309 by the end of 2026. So when we talk about how high it go, you got the head of Bank of America, their metals analyst saying this, you have um Michael Hartnett, their chief analyst, who came out not too long ago and said that you should sell half of your bonds and put 25% of your assets into precious metals. You have the the chief investment officer for Morgan Stanley who said the 60/40 platform that Wall Street has used is dead. Same thing Hartnet said. He said it used to be 60 stock 40 bonds. Sell half your bonds. He said as well and put 20% into metals. So I don't know when when s when silver wakes up I can't see it stopping at what people think is reasonable. And there are people who think silver has gone too far too fast. I think it's finally gone far enough for people to notice and not nearly enough to reflect reality. When you see the amount of metal that is standing for delivery every single month for 16 straight months unabated, it tells you the reality that price is the greatest tool of misdirection and uh the length that they had to go to to stop it from rising. Two glitches. Don't worry, it's okay. It's just a glitch. Forget about all the other commodities. is just focused on the one of the thousand commodities that COMX trades. It's just gold and silver. Just keep keep on going. And the same thing is true with on the downside. Oh, the circuit breakers that would stop it from falling broke twice. It's just a glitch. Four glitches since Thanksgiving, but it's just no big deal. We're working on it. And then you see the deliveries. And then you see the head analysts at Bank of America and the head of their metals research saying, "Could it go to 309 bucks by the end of this year?" I don't know. You tell me. Where will it go? Silver and gold have never been allowed to find real price discovery because of the West and their desire to hold it down. Gold for something called Gibson's paradox, the inverse relationship between real interest rates and the price of gold and silver because the military-industrial complex needs it. End of story. So, do I think uh it's too late? No. I think it's just beginning. Now, aside from the absolutely tragic cost of human lives, war is expensive to wage. And estimates from the Center for Strategic and International Studies place the cost of this war with Iran at close to $900 million per day. If the conflict continues for longer than the Trump administration is predicting, and it seems to already be playing out that way, and if, god forbid, it drags on for years, what does that mean for government debt and deficits and the US economy? You know, sadly, war is always bullish for gold. At the same time, it's another it's another leg in in the great monetization of the American decline. And it is it's it's more debt. It's more pressure on the bond market, more pressure on the dollar. Um, and loss of confidence in the United States. Um, it's bipolar. I mean, excuse me, it's polarizing rather. And uh it's not good any way you look at it for anything except probably the price of gold. It is not good for this country. It is not good for the dollar. It is not good for the reserve status. It's not good for anything. And yeah, absolutely. War will put uh we'll will be very inflationary. We'll need more money printing, more more selling of bonds, more strain on the dollar, probably pretty good for metals. And that's about it. Well, later on the interview, I'm going to ask you a bit more about your unfiltered views on the war with Iran. So, stick around for that, guys. But first, I want to ask what trends you're currently watching when it comes to gold's role as money in today's bifurcated world. We've seen some big events transpire. We've talked about a lot of them on this show. Basel 3, the growing bricks alliance and their desire to trade outside the dollar. Talk of gold back bonds in the US, central bank buying, and much more. Could you help separate the signal from the noise for us and let us know what you're watching right now? >> I've felt for quite some time that gold was quietly being remonetized, Jesse, by the central banks and not so much through their rhetoric, but through action. They're treating it as a strategic reserve. Um its role to me has been rising because more than anything trust in in the dollar in in the reserve mix which is dollars and treasuries is is and has been eroding. And you know there was a report not too long ago that said gold has surpassed the euro to become the world's second largest reserve asset. Um to me that reflects what gold is. It's it's more than anything it's a neutral reserve asset with no counterparty risk, no sanction risk. Um gold is is its role is returning um maybe as money um not because of politicians declared it so it's returning because trust is fragmenting, reserves have been weaponized. Um I don't know. So to me it's that central banks are choosing the one asset that that sits outside um the liability structure of another government. In other words, you can't you can't sanction it. You can't freeze it. Um you can't inflate it away. And I I think that's really what what's going on more than anything. Tether has become a major player in the physical gold market in a move I don't think many saw coming and is now one of the largest non-governmental holders of bullion having amassed around a 140 ton stockpile of gold and they are continuing to buy their goldbacked stable coin X aut now has a market cap exceeding 2.8 8 billion. How much of a factor do you see Tether in the current setup for gold? And do you think we could see wider adoption of goldbacked stable coins and other goldbacked cryptos up ahead? >> Well, you have the Genius Act that goes into effect in January and USA Tether is a big part of that uh and their gold accumulation. I've talked a lot about this. I'm going to frame it a different way here, but I've talked a lot about the fact that I think they're part of this is the wink wink nod nod. This is the part that is is all conjecture by me where I really do believe that there's no coincidence that Bo Hines, who was Trump's cryptos are to August, is now the president or the CEO of USA Tether. There is no coincidence that they continue to accumulate gold. Think of this in the respect to what Judy Shelton is saying because rising gold devalues the dollar. And if indeed they work this out where because of the Clarity Act, you cannot transfer the interest that is backing the stable coins which are 90-day or less short-term treasury synthetic demand. Tether keeps it. They buy gold. It devalues the dollar, pushes gold higher. That's what they want. But look, um I think on a bigger signal, I'm a bigger picture. I think what you're getting at because I do believe that and people go back and watch my videos. I've talked a lot about Tether. But what it is to me is you're you're taking something that us uh you know old school gold bugs uh talk about and this this asset you're making it portable and divisible and transferable in a digital environment and that matters cuz there's a there's a growing class of young investors who want gold exposure. Maybe they're beginning to without the friction of shipping and storage and all that stuff. And so, um, you know, I I think that this is the kind of the bridge, if you will, between old money and new rails. So, yeah, I think goldback stable coins and someday tokenized gold products will see wider adoption, especially in a world where where trust is being destroyed and and you know, younger investors want mobility and are more comfortable owning value on chain rather than a safe deposit box. So, yeah. um I don't know merging gold with the the qualities of of blockchain or crypto to me that broadens demand tremendously brings on a new class of buyers into the market. Um but I would also say that the closer the world gets to real stress war monetary stress you know let's not forget the difference between a claim on gold digitally even if it's all done right and gold itself. So there is one thing to say that you know physical gold in your own possession maybe is the best way to own it but there certainly is something to be said for this expansion into um assetbacked um crypto. So, I wonder if you see any potential danger when it comes to the goldbacked uh stable coins because you were mentioning there that we're entering an era where physical is obviously far different than a paper promise. And we're also seeing signs of acceleration towards CBDC's by certain governments. Of course, the EU announcing their digital euro roll out. We'll have to see how that goes, but clearly this is something that has a lot of people concerned. So, do you see any potential bridge there between a gold back stable coin and a CBDC that maybe people should be wary of? Well, yeah. When you add into it the digital ID needed for voter registration that they're trying to, you know, really push, you have the mix of digital money with with a digital ID as that is in my opinion the entryway into the gateway as they would call it uh into the digital surveillance state. You know, the difference between a CBDC and a stable coin is that a CBDC, the the the CB is central bank, right? So people, well, I don't want the central bank, you know, but if it's private, well, that's different. But if you look at the rails, the plumbing of the of the the uh stable coin bill, the Genius Act, everything comes in and out of the US Treasury. And so when you talk about in essence the on-ramps and the off-ramps will be monitored by by the government uh in essence you could argue especially when combined with the digital ID that we have been told is for um election integrity and you know I did an interview with Katherine Austin Fitz and it was very interesting. She came out and said and got a lot of a lot of interesting comments about this that Trump was brought in for this reason specifically to convince those on the right that they needed a digital ID. Look how bad it can get with election interference. uh is kind of the theory and yes that there are those that maybe rightfully so according to Katherine that this indeed might even be every bit as bad or worse than a CBDC because everyone's guard is let down because these are are independent companies that are issuing the the stable coins. But let's not forget that it all goes into and out of the US Treasury. So, is it a stable coin or is it a central bank digital currency in stable coin clothing? I think that's what Katherine would say and it's certainly an interesting thought experiment. Well, I want to close our conversation, as I often do, by taking a step back from the financial side of things and getting your current views on the state, of the US, of society in America, of the political sphere because Trump's war on Iran appears to be incredibly unpopular. And with WTI crude prices having broken triple digits. I believe now we're in the 80s, we could start to see consumers feel the reverberating effects at gasoline prices, the prices of food and electricity and just inflation going up in general. Assuming this war continues, assuming the oil prices stay high, and with everything that's happening in America with the political sphere, it feels like Trump is representing the opposite of everything he said he was running on, which is to be the president of peace. and here we are attacking a foreign country. How do you see all of this uh potentially evolving moving forward? >> Yeah, it sucks. You know, it's interesting that the CPI, I mean, the CPI doesn't uh take into account uh food, energy, and housing. Food and energy being two of the primary uh um inflated perhaps um assets or or commodities as this carries on. But look, I mean, I think the easy answer is that it seems that America's already stretched thin. Most people are carrying too much debt, and that's just to maintain the status quo. So when you see things like oil spiking, would just make sense that it would ripple through the entire economy in things like transportation and food, like to your point, both of which, you know, are vital. um that ripples all the way down into manufacturing. Uh the cost of utilities, everything is all about energy and it all rises together. So you you layer all that on top, I guess, of an already strained middle class, rising debt, declining trust in institutions. I don't know, man. It doesn't take much more for people to feel like, you know, that the system doesn't work for them anymore. I I think it's it's it's a scary it's a scary thing and you're right uh it could change very quickly because this was supposed to be a you know four four day deal it seems to me like they're um a long ways off on that on that estimate. So the longer it goes, yeah, I think I think the biggest thing is the trust in our leaders, the trust in our institutions uh will get worse as to will the cost of living as uh especially if if we see you know something substantive in the straight of Hormuz and attacking the oil refineries and um in in that area, it will reverberate through everything. So yeah, um it's an interesting question, but I would say it wouldn't take much more uh of of this much longer for people to really get upset and feel like uh you know they've had it with with this agenda. >> And I know I said it was the final question, but I just want to follow up here because we are entering the midterms where if this continues, we are certainly going to see a Democrat majority. Perhaps people will be so upset, even notable right-wing influencer Nick Fuentes saying that if if anybody from the current administration's up for presidential election in 2028, he's voting Democrat. The problem is that that side of the aisle isn't going to fix anything either. They're going to go full-blown socialism and they're going to push things in that direction and I don't think anything's going to materially improve. This two-party system doesn't seem to be working anymore. Would you agree with that? >> A thousand%. And uh you know, let's not forget where we would have been um had had the previous administration or or Harris won. You're right. And I mean I I I shudder to to think what it would be like. Um yeah, I guess we're left with with choices that, you know, maybe aren't as good as as as they once were. But I think you get a guy like Marco Rubio running or um Ronda Santis uh on the I think Marco Rubio has greater appeal uh even for maybe someone who's centrist on the left side. Um this this is a guy who seems to I think get it. Uh he is uh his family were immigrants. um he's someone who's a little bit more down the middle in my mind, but you're right. I I think the whole concept of of being down the middle, of being centrist, it just seems like it's one end or the other. Um I hate the divisiveness. I really do. Um uh I guess we'll have we'll have to see how it all plays out, but you're right, the midterms are very very important um for this administration. Um, I just hope that we don't swing all the way back to the left side. There has to be something instead of going far right, far left. There has to be something in the middle. And um, that's really what this this country needs because we're so divisive. We're not Americans anymore. We're left, we're right, we're blue, we're red, we're black, we're white, we're rich, we're poor, we're vaccinated, we're not vaccinated. It's enough already. I think we forgot who we were. And you know, when I was a kid, we were all Americans. and you you weren't identified by who you voted for for the last ele from the last election and you could have conversations without it turning viscerally angry or heated. Um I don't know. I guess it's events like this that maybe you call it the fourth turning that that kind of kind of reset things. And how close are we to that type of reset? I don't know. But yeah, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. Let's hope it's quick and let's hope that um the Iranian people are able to take over their own country and and get away from any type of radicalization and uh make the world a safer, better place. I don't know. Is that uh is that hyperbole? Is that is that pie in the sky? I don't know. But it's scary to think what this country would look like if we go full-blown socialist. Um we're already broken and insolvent. Um God help us if that's the path we go down. you'll see this country fall, the standard of living in this country fall precipitously. And these are things that are very difficult to get back once they start to cascade down that down that slippery slope. >> Some great thoughts today, Andy. Why don't you tell us about Miles Franklin Precious Metals and Miles Franklin Media? Uh Miles Franklin Media, Michelle McCory and I have been running that for about a year now and we're we're about 120,000 subscribers somehow out of nowhere and very very proud of what what we've built and and are building and and have great people on. You've been on our show, been on my show little by little. Uh Miles Franklin Precious Metals, we are now um celebrating our 36th year in business. Never had a customer complaint material one ever in 36 years. You can go to myfranklin.com and check us out. If you're in North America and would like our price list, which will be very difficult to beat. Uh that's info@franklin.com. Please let us know that you saw us on this show. Ask for the price list or any questions you have. We update the price list twice a week. If you find prices that are better, let us know. Chances are we will be able to match it or better it. That's kind of our model. And uh I always love coming on with you, Jesse. There are very few people who get it the way you do. That's why I had you on my show after, you know, after being on your show a few times because you get it and you have the courage to say to ask it and to say it and I have much respect for you and always always love coming on your show. So, thank you very much and certainly look forward to picking up where we left off hopefully not too far down the road. >> Absolutely. I'm going to put links in the description to Miles Franklin Media as well as Miles Franklin Precious Metals as well as the email where you can reach out for that price list. Andy, always an honor having you on and absolutely we'll make sure to catch up again soon. >> Stay well, Jess. Take it easy, bud. >> Thank you for joining us today. Our sponsor, Arc Silver, Gold, Osmium, has some great prices on precious metals, bullion products. You can see them on your screen right now. These are subject to change and well supplies last. So reach out to owner Ian Everard today at 3072649441 or by email at ianarchsggo.com and make sure to tell them that commodity culture sent you and represent sound money in style with the official stack silver not fiat t-shirt available in the commodity culture shop using the link in the description below and I'll see you guys in the next episode. Commodity Culture is a series on commodities and natural resources. If you would like to see more, be sure to subscribe and hit the bell notification so you're always up to date with the latest episodes.
SILVER 'Just Waking Up' – $300+ In Play For 2026: Andy Schectman
Summary
Transcript
Hello everybody and welcome into commodity culture where we break down commodities markets, sound money principles and geopolitics all with the goal of making you a better investor in the commodities sector. My name is Jesse Day. Today is March 10th, 2026 and on this episode I'm thrilled to welcome Andy Sheckchman to the program, an expert in the gold and silver space and the president of Miles Franklin Precious Metals. Andy remains fiercely bullish on silver despite the runup in prices and believes any dip is a potential buying opportunity as he believes that far from reaching its peak, the metal has just woken up and could go to over $300 by the end of the year. Andy also breaks down the potential effects of the war in Iran on precious metals markets. Why gold back stable coins could be a Trojan horse for central bank digital currencies. what these obscene levels of wartime spending could do to the US economy and so much more. So, strap yourselves in for my conversation with Andy Sheckchman. Andy Sheckchman, great to have you back on Commodity Culture. I want to kick things off by getting your thoughts on how gold and silver have reacted so far to the war with Iran. We saw both metals along with related equities sell off somewhat. Nothing major as we sit here today. Gold now above 5,200, silver at around $89 an ounce, assuming this continues to expand. How do you anticipate this conflict in the Middle East affecting precious metals prices? >> Um, I think that typically the market gets the first move wrong. Uh, we all expect, everyone expects the price to take off. my my old friend, God rest his soul, Jim Sinclair, used to say mope, management of perception economics, that every time we've gone to war since the the uh the first Gulf War in the '9s, they knock the price down to manage expectations. We're told that it's liquidity management, that gold and silver are liquid, and so they're sold first. But I don't believe that to be true. I think it's more managing the perception of what's happening. But look, um I think if if the war expands, it does become a massive catalyst for both gold and silver because it drives things that that metals love most. Um uncertainty, loss of confidence, inflation, debt. Gold is real money. And I think that if it were me, um I wouldn't be shaken by a pullback at all. I'd see this as a market giving you one more chance because the amount of deliveries that we've seen over the past 16 months tell you that the most well-informed traders in the world who have been front running all of this understand where the puck is going. Just like Wayne Gretzky never skated to the puck, he skated to where it's going. And they're telling you through their deliveries nonstop, which the media has missed completely and totally um that this is just beginning, that this is not the end of the bull market for gold and silver. >> Now, is the mainstream missing it or they intentionally misleading people? Because I was having this conversation recently that the mainstream media has missed out on this whole bull run in precious metals. when they did mention it, it was often in snide remarks to say why you should be cautious about investing in gold and silver, why it's highly speculative. If we take the view of conspiracy theorists, which at this point I think we all have to become conspiracy theorists considering everything that's going on in the world, the Epstein files, etc. There is potentially a conspiracy of governments trying to stop people from understanding that gold and silver is money. That's through price manipulation. That's through the sort of volatility like we saw after silver ran up to well over $100 an ounce. 26% drop in a single trading day. There's some speculation that comx circuit breakers were start supposed to trigger but didn't. That's a whole other conversation. But alongside with that, you have the media not paying any attention to many major events that are going on in the precious metal sector. Do you think this is all by design? >> Yeah, the the the circuit breakers don't trigger twice on the downside. It's a glitch. And twice on the upside, there's an overheating of a server on Thanksgiving evening, right at 11:00 at night. Everyone's trading right on Thanksgiving. Uh and then it does it again uh just last week where, you know, there they threw natural gas into the the mix so that the natural gas and the metals market glitched again and silver opened back up four hours later, $4 down. And then you know you go back and and see how they did that during Thanksgiving day or evening when they did the same thing prices were flying and then they knock it down. They for 11 hours the market is closed saying oh the the servers overheated of the thousand commodities they trade. It just so happened that the metals market servers overheated. Forget about the triple redundancy these server farms have. But yeah uh it it it was a glitch. four glitches since Thanksgiving and we're supposed to believe that's random and okay. There is a fine line between conspiracy and reality. And you're damn right, Jesse. They missed the biggest thing. Period. Yeah. If Reuters calling silver devil's metal, it's always in a negative light. What they've missed is that the most well-informed and wellunded traders on the planet, those here in New York, for 16 straight months have stood for delivery at levels nobody has ever seen before. Nobody. And it's not just the delivery. A lot of it's leaving the exchange. The this should have been front and center news uh for the February delivery, which is a non um it's it's it's not a primary delivery month. And I'll get the numbers pretty close, but roughly 25 million ounces were delivered, which would been one of the smaller delivery months over the last 16 where it's averaged between 30 and 70 million ounces delivered. Billions every month. 25 million ounces delivered into the COMX. 38 million ounces leave Comx 160% of what was delivered which would which would be able to explain what left 160% left of what deliveries would explain alone. In other words, who the hell is standing for delivery and then moving 39 million ounces out of the com mix? Literally moving it out. If a mint box of of silver eagles weighs 42 lbs, it's 500 ounces. Who's moving 39 million? Is there a coincidence? And and talk about media framing things poorly? Does anyone in the mainstream even know that silver was classified a critical mineral for national security last month? That they've decided through Project Vault, which no one knows about, to build a strategic stockpile and to put state sponsor price floors underneath this the price of of critical minerals like silver and platinum to incentivize domestic mining. None of this stuff is talked about, only the negative stuff. So, you're right. There is a very fine line between conspiracy and reality. And they want everyone to believe that you and I and the people that you talk to are nuts. But yet, we've been proven right over and over and over and over again. Yet, the mainstream won't acknowledge the the journalistic integrity that that we all grew up thinking was real is dead and is gone. And you're far more a mainstream journalist than anything we'll find on Fox or CNBC or any of the other mainstreams because you have the courage not only to to say these things to your guests, but the way you just said it is poignant and real and true. And you're damn right. This is uh this is being kept from us not only by misdirecting with price, but misdirecting with rhetoric and and information 100%. Something you've discussed on this show is the amount of silver needed for military applications and of course not to mention all the other industrial uses for the metal. We are in the sixth year of a supply deficit of silver according to the silver institute. How much do you think this industrial and military need for silver could affect the demand side here and what will that do to prices? >> Yeah, silver is absolutely needed for defense systems, for aerospace, for communications, for advanced electronics. So the military side matters because it's not optional demand, period. They're not going to stop buying it because it went up 20 bucks. They're going to secure what they need. And and the same thing is true with industrial demand. It's sticky. It's critical. It's not the kind of demand that just disappears overnight. Um it's it's strategic as we were just told. that is now a strategic metal necessary for not only national security, which would be military demand, but industrial demand as well. AI, energy, infrastructure, they're all drawing from the same little pool of supply. So, according to the the Silver Institute, we're now in our sixth year of structural deficit. Then at some point, doesn't price have to rise to to to meet reality? Um, and I would argue in in an asset like silver, which is um the one metal that the world really needs and is burning through as if it's abundant. Um, that repricing won't be orderly. It'll be explosive because it's been held down for so long. And now the the reality is that physical demand is far more important than paper promises. And you're beginning to see that through the deliveries across the globe. The sponsor of today's episode is Arc Silver Gold Osmium. Owner Ian Everard is praised even by his competitors as one of the most honest and level-headed bullion dealers in the United States. They have some great prices. You can see some of them displayed right now on screen. Take advantage of these specials today by reaching out to Ian at 3072649441 or by email at ianarchsg.com. Make sure to tell them of course that Commodity Culture sent you. And now back to the interview. Now you mentioned prices needing to rise. You've been incredibly bullish on silver since I first started talking to you on this show. You've called it a generational opportunity. Your words prove prophetic as we saw the tremendous runup to tripledigit silver. But at these prices, because I've spoken to some people, in fact, I spoke to um Jordan Rushi from Mining Stock Monkey recently. He said silver scares him right now because of how far and how fast it's moved in such a short time. Are you still seeing a large amount of upside ahead? And if you had to venture a guess, where do you think silver will be at the end of 2026? >> Silver at these prices is not the end of the move at all to me. In fact, it's it's proof that the market's waking up. Uh you have what is his name? Just a second. There is um what's his name? The Michael Whitmer, Bank of America's head of metal research, says silver could reach anywhere between 135 and 309 by the end of 2026. So when we talk about how high it go, you got the head of Bank of America, their metals analyst saying this, you have um Michael Hartnett, their chief analyst, who came out not too long ago and said that you should sell half of your bonds and put 25% of your assets into precious metals. You have the the chief investment officer for Morgan Stanley who said the 60/40 platform that Wall Street has used is dead. Same thing Hartnet said. He said it used to be 60 stock 40 bonds. Sell half your bonds. He said as well and put 20% into metals. So I don't know when when s when silver wakes up I can't see it stopping at what people think is reasonable. And there are people who think silver has gone too far too fast. I think it's finally gone far enough for people to notice and not nearly enough to reflect reality. When you see the amount of metal that is standing for delivery every single month for 16 straight months unabated, it tells you the reality that price is the greatest tool of misdirection and uh the length that they had to go to to stop it from rising. Two glitches. Don't worry, it's okay. It's just a glitch. Forget about all the other commodities. is just focused on the one of the thousand commodities that COMX trades. It's just gold and silver. Just keep keep on going. And the same thing is true with on the downside. Oh, the circuit breakers that would stop it from falling broke twice. It's just a glitch. Four glitches since Thanksgiving, but it's just no big deal. We're working on it. And then you see the deliveries. And then you see the head analysts at Bank of America and the head of their metals research saying, "Could it go to 309 bucks by the end of this year?" I don't know. You tell me. Where will it go? Silver and gold have never been allowed to find real price discovery because of the West and their desire to hold it down. Gold for something called Gibson's paradox, the inverse relationship between real interest rates and the price of gold and silver because the military-industrial complex needs it. End of story. So, do I think uh it's too late? No. I think it's just beginning. Now, aside from the absolutely tragic cost of human lives, war is expensive to wage. And estimates from the Center for Strategic and International Studies place the cost of this war with Iran at close to $900 million per day. If the conflict continues for longer than the Trump administration is predicting, and it seems to already be playing out that way, and if, god forbid, it drags on for years, what does that mean for government debt and deficits and the US economy? You know, sadly, war is always bullish for gold. At the same time, it's another it's another leg in in the great monetization of the American decline. And it is it's it's more debt. It's more pressure on the bond market, more pressure on the dollar. Um, and loss of confidence in the United States. Um, it's bipolar. I mean, excuse me, it's polarizing rather. And uh it's not good any way you look at it for anything except probably the price of gold. It is not good for this country. It is not good for the dollar. It is not good for the reserve status. It's not good for anything. And yeah, absolutely. War will put uh we'll will be very inflationary. We'll need more money printing, more more selling of bonds, more strain on the dollar, probably pretty good for metals. And that's about it. Well, later on the interview, I'm going to ask you a bit more about your unfiltered views on the war with Iran. So, stick around for that, guys. But first, I want to ask what trends you're currently watching when it comes to gold's role as money in today's bifurcated world. We've seen some big events transpire. We've talked about a lot of them on this show. Basel 3, the growing bricks alliance and their desire to trade outside the dollar. Talk of gold back bonds in the US, central bank buying, and much more. Could you help separate the signal from the noise for us and let us know what you're watching right now? >> I've felt for quite some time that gold was quietly being remonetized, Jesse, by the central banks and not so much through their rhetoric, but through action. They're treating it as a strategic reserve. Um its role to me has been rising because more than anything trust in in the dollar in in the reserve mix which is dollars and treasuries is is and has been eroding. And you know there was a report not too long ago that said gold has surpassed the euro to become the world's second largest reserve asset. Um to me that reflects what gold is. It's it's more than anything it's a neutral reserve asset with no counterparty risk, no sanction risk. Um gold is is its role is returning um maybe as money um not because of politicians declared it so it's returning because trust is fragmenting, reserves have been weaponized. Um I don't know. So to me it's that central banks are choosing the one asset that that sits outside um the liability structure of another government. In other words, you can't you can't sanction it. You can't freeze it. Um you can't inflate it away. And I I think that's really what what's going on more than anything. Tether has become a major player in the physical gold market in a move I don't think many saw coming and is now one of the largest non-governmental holders of bullion having amassed around a 140 ton stockpile of gold and they are continuing to buy their goldbacked stable coin X aut now has a market cap exceeding 2.8 8 billion. How much of a factor do you see Tether in the current setup for gold? And do you think we could see wider adoption of goldbacked stable coins and other goldbacked cryptos up ahead? >> Well, you have the Genius Act that goes into effect in January and USA Tether is a big part of that uh and their gold accumulation. I've talked a lot about this. I'm going to frame it a different way here, but I've talked a lot about the fact that I think they're part of this is the wink wink nod nod. This is the part that is is all conjecture by me where I really do believe that there's no coincidence that Bo Hines, who was Trump's cryptos are to August, is now the president or the CEO of USA Tether. There is no coincidence that they continue to accumulate gold. Think of this in the respect to what Judy Shelton is saying because rising gold devalues the dollar. And if indeed they work this out where because of the Clarity Act, you cannot transfer the interest that is backing the stable coins which are 90-day or less short-term treasury synthetic demand. Tether keeps it. They buy gold. It devalues the dollar, pushes gold higher. That's what they want. But look, um I think on a bigger signal, I'm a bigger picture. I think what you're getting at because I do believe that and people go back and watch my videos. I've talked a lot about Tether. But what it is to me is you're you're taking something that us uh you know old school gold bugs uh talk about and this this asset you're making it portable and divisible and transferable in a digital environment and that matters cuz there's a there's a growing class of young investors who want gold exposure. Maybe they're beginning to without the friction of shipping and storage and all that stuff. And so, um, you know, I I think that this is the kind of the bridge, if you will, between old money and new rails. So, yeah, I think goldback stable coins and someday tokenized gold products will see wider adoption, especially in a world where where trust is being destroyed and and you know, younger investors want mobility and are more comfortable owning value on chain rather than a safe deposit box. So, yeah. um I don't know merging gold with the the qualities of of blockchain or crypto to me that broadens demand tremendously brings on a new class of buyers into the market. Um but I would also say that the closer the world gets to real stress war monetary stress you know let's not forget the difference between a claim on gold digitally even if it's all done right and gold itself. So there is one thing to say that you know physical gold in your own possession maybe is the best way to own it but there certainly is something to be said for this expansion into um assetbacked um crypto. So, I wonder if you see any potential danger when it comes to the goldbacked uh stable coins because you were mentioning there that we're entering an era where physical is obviously far different than a paper promise. And we're also seeing signs of acceleration towards CBDC's by certain governments. Of course, the EU announcing their digital euro roll out. We'll have to see how that goes, but clearly this is something that has a lot of people concerned. So, do you see any potential bridge there between a gold back stable coin and a CBDC that maybe people should be wary of? Well, yeah. When you add into it the digital ID needed for voter registration that they're trying to, you know, really push, you have the mix of digital money with with a digital ID as that is in my opinion the entryway into the gateway as they would call it uh into the digital surveillance state. You know, the difference between a CBDC and a stable coin is that a CBDC, the the the CB is central bank, right? So people, well, I don't want the central bank, you know, but if it's private, well, that's different. But if you look at the rails, the plumbing of the of the the uh stable coin bill, the Genius Act, everything comes in and out of the US Treasury. And so when you talk about in essence the on-ramps and the off-ramps will be monitored by by the government uh in essence you could argue especially when combined with the digital ID that we have been told is for um election integrity and you know I did an interview with Katherine Austin Fitz and it was very interesting. She came out and said and got a lot of a lot of interesting comments about this that Trump was brought in for this reason specifically to convince those on the right that they needed a digital ID. Look how bad it can get with election interference. uh is kind of the theory and yes that there are those that maybe rightfully so according to Katherine that this indeed might even be every bit as bad or worse than a CBDC because everyone's guard is let down because these are are independent companies that are issuing the the stable coins. But let's not forget that it all goes into and out of the US Treasury. So, is it a stable coin or is it a central bank digital currency in stable coin clothing? I think that's what Katherine would say and it's certainly an interesting thought experiment. Well, I want to close our conversation, as I often do, by taking a step back from the financial side of things and getting your current views on the state, of the US, of society in America, of the political sphere because Trump's war on Iran appears to be incredibly unpopular. And with WTI crude prices having broken triple digits. I believe now we're in the 80s, we could start to see consumers feel the reverberating effects at gasoline prices, the prices of food and electricity and just inflation going up in general. Assuming this war continues, assuming the oil prices stay high, and with everything that's happening in America with the political sphere, it feels like Trump is representing the opposite of everything he said he was running on, which is to be the president of peace. and here we are attacking a foreign country. How do you see all of this uh potentially evolving moving forward? >> Yeah, it sucks. You know, it's interesting that the CPI, I mean, the CPI doesn't uh take into account uh food, energy, and housing. Food and energy being two of the primary uh um inflated perhaps um assets or or commodities as this carries on. But look, I mean, I think the easy answer is that it seems that America's already stretched thin. Most people are carrying too much debt, and that's just to maintain the status quo. So when you see things like oil spiking, would just make sense that it would ripple through the entire economy in things like transportation and food, like to your point, both of which, you know, are vital. um that ripples all the way down into manufacturing. Uh the cost of utilities, everything is all about energy and it all rises together. So you you layer all that on top, I guess, of an already strained middle class, rising debt, declining trust in institutions. I don't know, man. It doesn't take much more for people to feel like, you know, that the system doesn't work for them anymore. I I think it's it's it's a scary it's a scary thing and you're right uh it could change very quickly because this was supposed to be a you know four four day deal it seems to me like they're um a long ways off on that on that estimate. So the longer it goes, yeah, I think I think the biggest thing is the trust in our leaders, the trust in our institutions uh will get worse as to will the cost of living as uh especially if if we see you know something substantive in the straight of Hormuz and attacking the oil refineries and um in in that area, it will reverberate through everything. So yeah, um it's an interesting question, but I would say it wouldn't take much more uh of of this much longer for people to really get upset and feel like uh you know they've had it with with this agenda. >> And I know I said it was the final question, but I just want to follow up here because we are entering the midterms where if this continues, we are certainly going to see a Democrat majority. Perhaps people will be so upset, even notable right-wing influencer Nick Fuentes saying that if if anybody from the current administration's up for presidential election in 2028, he's voting Democrat. The problem is that that side of the aisle isn't going to fix anything either. They're going to go full-blown socialism and they're going to push things in that direction and I don't think anything's going to materially improve. This two-party system doesn't seem to be working anymore. Would you agree with that? >> A thousand%. And uh you know, let's not forget where we would have been um had had the previous administration or or Harris won. You're right. And I mean I I I shudder to to think what it would be like. Um yeah, I guess we're left with with choices that, you know, maybe aren't as good as as as they once were. But I think you get a guy like Marco Rubio running or um Ronda Santis uh on the I think Marco Rubio has greater appeal uh even for maybe someone who's centrist on the left side. Um this this is a guy who seems to I think get it. Uh he is uh his family were immigrants. um he's someone who's a little bit more down the middle in my mind, but you're right. I I think the whole concept of of being down the middle, of being centrist, it just seems like it's one end or the other. Um I hate the divisiveness. I really do. Um uh I guess we'll have we'll have to see how it all plays out, but you're right, the midterms are very very important um for this administration. Um, I just hope that we don't swing all the way back to the left side. There has to be something instead of going far right, far left. There has to be something in the middle. And um, that's really what this this country needs because we're so divisive. We're not Americans anymore. We're left, we're right, we're blue, we're red, we're black, we're white, we're rich, we're poor, we're vaccinated, we're not vaccinated. It's enough already. I think we forgot who we were. And you know, when I was a kid, we were all Americans. and you you weren't identified by who you voted for for the last ele from the last election and you could have conversations without it turning viscerally angry or heated. Um I don't know. I guess it's events like this that maybe you call it the fourth turning that that kind of kind of reset things. And how close are we to that type of reset? I don't know. But yeah, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. Let's hope it's quick and let's hope that um the Iranian people are able to take over their own country and and get away from any type of radicalization and uh make the world a safer, better place. I don't know. Is that uh is that hyperbole? Is that is that pie in the sky? I don't know. But it's scary to think what this country would look like if we go full-blown socialist. Um we're already broken and insolvent. Um God help us if that's the path we go down. you'll see this country fall, the standard of living in this country fall precipitously. And these are things that are very difficult to get back once they start to cascade down that down that slippery slope. >> Some great thoughts today, Andy. Why don't you tell us about Miles Franklin Precious Metals and Miles Franklin Media? Uh Miles Franklin Media, Michelle McCory and I have been running that for about a year now and we're we're about 120,000 subscribers somehow out of nowhere and very very proud of what what we've built and and are building and and have great people on. You've been on our show, been on my show little by little. Uh Miles Franklin Precious Metals, we are now um celebrating our 36th year in business. Never had a customer complaint material one ever in 36 years. You can go to myfranklin.com and check us out. If you're in North America and would like our price list, which will be very difficult to beat. Uh that's info@franklin.com. Please let us know that you saw us on this show. Ask for the price list or any questions you have. We update the price list twice a week. If you find prices that are better, let us know. Chances are we will be able to match it or better it. That's kind of our model. And uh I always love coming on with you, Jesse. There are very few people who get it the way you do. That's why I had you on my show after, you know, after being on your show a few times because you get it and you have the courage to say to ask it and to say it and I have much respect for you and always always love coming on your show. So, thank you very much and certainly look forward to picking up where we left off hopefully not too far down the road. >> Absolutely. I'm going to put links in the description to Miles Franklin Media as well as Miles Franklin Precious Metals as well as the email where you can reach out for that price list. Andy, always an honor having you on and absolutely we'll make sure to catch up again soon. >> Stay well, Jess. Take it easy, bud. >> Thank you for joining us today. Our sponsor, Arc Silver, Gold, Osmium, has some great prices on precious metals, bullion products. You can see them on your screen right now. These are subject to change and well supplies last. So reach out to owner Ian Everard today at 3072649441 or by email at ianarchsggo.com and make sure to tell them that commodity culture sent you and represent sound money in style with the official stack silver not fiat t-shirt available in the commodity culture shop using the link in the description below and I'll see you guys in the next episode. Commodity Culture is a series on commodities and natural resources. If you would like to see more, be sure to subscribe and hit the bell notification so you're always up to date with the latest episodes.