A unique inflation hedge you’ve probably never considered

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Today’s issue in preview:

• A unique inflation hedge you’ve probably never considered

• This Bitcoin catalyst could trigger soon and send it past $100,000

• Learn our Top Themes to buy now

A unique inflation hedge you’ve probably never considered

Credit: f9photos

For anyone looking to protect themselves against inflation, it’s worth knowing that it’s not just timberland on sale right now. World-class collections of gravel pits are also on sale.

Over the past six months, I’ve written a special series of research notes on publicly traded assets such as timberland giant Weyerhaeuser (WY) and construction aggregates firm Vulcan Materials (VMC) that can add a robust “inflation defense” component to your financial life.

You probably know why being vigilant against inflation is important: governments in most Western nations have promised far too many things to far too many people. They are spending far more on taxpayer benefits and wars than they collect in tax revenues.

The related debts and obligations governments have taken on cannot possibly be paid back with sound money. They can only be paid back with debased, devalued money… much of which is created out of thin air. This is driving inflation and significant currency debasement.

Prices are going up because the value of our money is going down.

Measured against a basket of widely used raw materials like crude oil, corn, copper, natural gas, sugar, and soybeans, the U.S. dollar has lost 53% of its value over the past eight years.

When I provide guidance on inflation defense, I urge people to keep my number one rule in mind: own in-demand, useful assets that cannot be easily replaced or replicated.

That is inflation defense in a nutshell. You want to own businesses and properties that produce in-demand, scarce resources, products, experiences, and services.

This group of assets includes quality farmland, beachfront real estate, timberland, mountain-view properties, great businesses, and oil and gas pipelines.

When a very difficult or impossible-to-replicate business or property produces in-demand, scarce resources, products, experiences, or services, it tends to hold its value no matter what the dollar is doing.

Its price will constantly “recalibrate” to accommodate an increase in currency units. It’s like the difference between slicing a pizza into 6 or 8 pieces. The number of slices changed, but the amount of pizza is the same.

In Monday’s issue, we detailed how timberland giant Weyerhaeuser was trading near one-year lows thanks to the rising interest rates and their depressive effects on the housing market.

Rising rates are also driving weakness in blue-chip construction aggregate producers Vulcan Materials and Martin Marietta Materials (MLM).

Together, Vulcan and Martin Marietta own and operate hundreds of mines across America that produce gravel, sand, and crushed stone – aka “construction aggregates.”

These raw materials are literally the foundation of highways, bridges, airports, offices, apartments, homes, and factories. You are virtually guaranteed to have driven on a road made possible by the construction aggregates produced by Vulcan or Martin Marietta. They are the giants of the industry.

Importantly, many of Vulcan and Martin Marietta’s mines are in coveted locations near America’s major metropolitan areas. This is key because construction aggregates are very heavy and therefore costly to transport over long distances. Transporting $5 million worth of gold and transporting $5 million worth of gravel are two very different things.

Given how difficult, expensive, and time-consuming it can be to permit and develop a large gravel mine, we can say both VMC and MLM own irreplaceable collections of scarce, in-demand resources. Again, these attributes are key to playing inflation defense. They’ve allowed the market values of VMC and MLM to rise and outpace dollar debasement over the past seven years.

VMC and MLM are also enjoying the U.S. factory and data center building boom we’ve been investing in with great success. As America grows, VMC and MLM grow with it.

We believe the attributes above are why master “quality” investor Chris Hohn is accumulating stakes in both firms.

Owning a collection of gravel pits and sand mines isn’t as exciting as owning SpaceX or AI stocks. However, if you want to play inflation defense by owning irreplaceable collections of scarce, in-demand assets whose prices can rise along with the rate of money creation, consider VMC and MLM.

This Bitcoin catalyst could trigger soon and send it past $100,000

Credit: Vertigo3d

Bitcoin owners and watchers take note: The world’s leading digital asset is poised to clear a critical price level… which could serve as a catalyst to send it past $100,000 per coin.

Back in March, we wrote a bullish research note on how we believed Bitcoin had reached an important bottom.

After reaching an all-time high of around $125,000 last October, Bitcoin entered a brutal bear market, declining by about 48% to the mid-$60,000 range.

Crypto specialists attributed this decline to the U.S. government withdrawing liquidity from financial markets, as well as to gold and AI trades drawing money flows that could have been directed toward Bitcoin.

Most long-term Bitcoin believers see it as a “store of value” that should maintain its purchasing power like gold and beachfront homes do. It should be a digital form of “hard money.” Sounds great.

However, from October 2025 to February 2026, Bitcoin traded more like a failing technology company than anything you’d call strong and stable.

In March, Bitcoin’s trading behavior underwent a significant change. It formed a bottom and gained 9.5% in one month, while technology stocks dropped and gold gained just 3.2%.

Importantly, Bitcoin outperformed stocks and gold as Operation Epic Fury created tremendous market volatility and hammered many sectors of the stock market. It was a “port in the storm.”

Importantly, Bitcoin recently rallied above its long-term 200-day moving average. This is a good sign of an improving health trend.

Remember what we say about the 200-day moving average around here: Securities below their 200-day moving average are on the wrong side of the tracks. It’s the ugly part of town. All the really bad things happen below the 200-day moving average. Bitcoin has broken above it.

So, after a year of disappointing believers, has Bitcoin regained its place as a “store of value”? Is it ready to be a “port in the storm” and a stabilizing component of serious portfolios?

I hope so.

The world is a better place when Bitcoin is rising, and we have not one but two forms of hard money to own.

Bitcoin is currently trading for around $79,000. You can see in the chart below that a break above $82,500 would mark Bitcoin’s highest level in over six months.

This break could signal to the market that Bitcoin is back in a bull market… which could attract billions in new buying and send it north of $100,000 per coin. This would, in turn, drive adjacent bull markets in blockchain-based stablecoin and tokenization trends.

We’re bullish… and we’ll keep you updated on this potential catalyst.

Market Notes

• The tokenization trend we’ve been writing about picked up momentum today. Ethereum reached a six-month high.

• The VanEck Oil Refiners ETF (CRAK) hit a new high today. Individual refining giants Valero Energy (VLO) and Marathon Petroleum (MPC) reached highs, too.

• Japanese banking giant Mizuho Financial Group (MFG) hit new highs along with Bancolombia (CIB), Colombia’s largest bank. International banks continue their momentum.

• Our November 17 recommendation to own biotech is doing well. 10X Genomics (TXG) hit new highs today, which puts it up 191% since our recommendation.

• Our February 3rd recommendation to own space bottleneck play Frequency Electronics (FEIM) just surged 35% post stellar earnings. It’s now up 54% since our February recommendation.

• Our March 20th recommendation to invest into scandium with Sunrise Energy Metals (SREMF) has performed extremely well. The stock is now up 22% in the last month and 211% since our March recommendation.

Regards,

Brian Hunt
Editor, Money & Megatrends

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