The Secret War on Cash

Why would the U.S. Treasury hire one of the most prominent advocates of gold-linked government debt at a moment when borrowing costs are rising and foreign central banks are accumulating physical gold?
In Episode 311 of The Secret War on Cash, Dean Heskin and Chris Agelastos of Swiss America Trading examine the appointment of economist and longtime gold advocate Judy Shelton as counselor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Shelton has spent years arguing that gold should play a larger role in the monetary system.
One of her more unusual proposals involves Treasury Trust Bonds.
Her 2012 concept envisioned zero-coupon Treasury securities that holders could potentially redeem at maturity in either conventional dollars or a predetermined amount of gold.
She has also argued more recently for very long-term Treasury debt backed by U.S. gold reserves.
The idea is straightforward.
If investors receive some form of gold-linked protection, they may be willing to accept a lower interest rate on U.S. debt.
That could theoretically help reduce Treasury borrowing costs at a time when long-duration yields are placing growing pressure on federal finances.
But there is an important distinction.
The Treasury Department has not announced a gold-backed bond.
Shelton’s role is advisory, and her appointment does not prove that the government intends to implement one of her gold-linked proposals.
Dean and Chris nevertheless find the timing notable.
Central banks around the world continue purchasing gold.
China has steadily increased its holdings.
The United States still owns one of the world’s largest official gold reserves.
And Treasury must continue financing an enormous national debt in a market where investors increasingly demand higher yields.
The conversation then moves to BRICS.
A Russian diplomat recently emphasized that BRICS is not opposed to the U.S. dollar and does not consider itself an anti-Western bloc.
At the same time, BRICS countries continue expanding trade using their own currencies.
Dean and Chris argue that those statements are not necessarily inconsistent.
Countries do not have to reject the dollar completely in order to reduce their dependence on it.
Russia, China, India and other nations can continue accepting dollars while simultaneously expanding ruble, yuan, rupee and other national-currency settlement.
That is why the hosts say actions may tell investors more than diplomatic language.
The larger monetary picture contains several moving pieces:
Gold accumulation.
Alternative payment systems.
National-currency trade.
High Treasury borrowing costs.
And now one of America’s leading advocates for gold-linked government debt working inside Treasury.
None of those facts guarantees a return to a gold standard.
But together they suggest that governments are thinking more seriously about monetary resilience and the role of tangible reserves.
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Referenced Articles
“Why Did Treasury Just Hire the Architect of the Gold-Backed Bond?”
ZeroHedge / Phoenix Capital Research, October 6, 2026. The article examines Judy Shelton’s Treasury appointment and her prior proposals for Treasury debt linked to gold. ZeroHedge
“BRICS Not Opposed To the US Dollar, Confirms Diplomat”
Watcher.Guru, September 30, 2026. The article reports Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov saying BRICS does not oppose the dollar while advocating greater use of national currencies. Watcher Guru

A Russian laboratory worker is dead.
Hospitals have been quarantined.
Contacts have been monitored.
And U.S. officials are asking Moscow for more information.
But what actually happened remains uncertain.
In Episode 310 of The Secret War on Cash, Dean Heskin and Chris Agelastos of Swiss America Trading examine the developing mystery surrounding the death of a 28-year-old worker at the Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East.
The worker died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown origin.
The institute she worked for studies plague as well as other dangerous diseases.
Reports of her death quickly drew international attention after Russian authorities implemented anti-epidemic measures and quarantined the medical facility where she had been treated.
The Washington Post reported that U.S. agencies including the CDC, State Department and other health and national-security organizations were seeking more information.
But there is an important distinction.
Russian authorities have not confirmed that the woman died from pneumonic plague.
Russia says testing has found no plague-related infection among identified contacts, while U.S. officials have cautioned that the immediate risk to Americans appears low.
Dean and Chris nevertheless explain why the story instantly evoked memories of the earliest period of COVID-19.
When an unfamiliar infectious-disease story first appears, incomplete information can create fear long before the medical picture becomes clear.
The second article discussed in the episode focuses on MIT biologist Kevin Esvelt.
Esvelt has publicly questioned whether the reported response in Russia is consistent with an ordinary laboratory accident involving pneumonic plague.
He argues that reports of multiple hospital quarantines, hazmat measures and security involvement deserve closer scrutiny.
But those concerns must be kept in context.
Esvelt’s more disturbing explanations remain hypotheses.
There is currently no confirmed evidence that the worker was infected by an engineered pathogen, that a biological weapon was involved or that Russia deliberately released anything.
The hosts then bring the conversation back to money.
COVID demonstrated that a major disease outbreak can transform financial markets almost overnight.
Stock markets plunged.
Supply chains froze.
Governments spent extraordinary amounts of money.
Central banks intervened aggressively.
Inflation eventually surged.
And investors increasingly looked toward assets such as physical gold and silver as forms of diversification during a period of extraordinary uncertainty.
That is why Dean and Chris believe this story belongs on The Secret War on Cash even though it begins in a laboratory rather than on Wall Street.
The question is not whether another pandemic has begun.
At this stage, there is no evidence establishing that.
The question is what happens financially if the situation becomes larger than current officials expect.
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A stock market can look extraordinarily strong right up until sentiment changes.
In Episode 309 of The Secret War on Cash, Dean Heskin and Chris Agelastos of Swiss America Trading begin with a sudden decline in India’s equity markets.
The hosts discuss three pressures identified in the article they examine: continued selling by foreign institutional investors, sharply elevated oil prices and government tax policy affecting market participants.
Many American investors may have little direct exposure to India.
Dean’s point, however, is that several of those vulnerabilities also exist in the United States.
Foreign investors have been reducing some exposure to U.S. debt and dollar-denominated assets.
Oil prices remain a global economic concern.
Higher inflation and interest rates can weaken currencies, slow growth and reduce investor confidence.
Chris notes that the Indian drop discussed in the episode erased roughly two and a half years of market gains in an extremely short period.
That is what makes sudden corrections so dangerous.
Most investors receive no warning immediately before the decline.
The conversation then shifts to Nvidia.
Dean and Chris discuss the company’s reported $235 billion stock-buyback authorization and compare it with Apple’s earlier roughly $110 billion program.
The scale is extraordinary.
Nvidia’s enormous revenue growth has been closely connected with the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and the infrastructure being built around it.
Dean worries that many of the largest AI companies have become increasingly interconnected, buying products and services from one another, investing throughout the same ecosystem and supporting valuations that depend on continued AI growth.
He compares the structure to a self-reinforcing financial loop and later describes it as a potential “house of cards.”
That is an opinion expressed by the hosts rather than an allegation of fraud.
Chris points back to recent episodes covering Michael Burry and Ray Dalio, both of whom have raised concerns about excessive spending and bubble conditions surrounding AI.
Nvidia may continue succeeding.
But current success does not guarantee permanent dominance.
Chris compares the moment with the dot-com era, when many companies that appeared enormous and indispensable ultimately disappeared even though the internet itself went on to transform the world.
The lesson is not that artificial intelligence will fail.
It is that a successful technology and successful investments in that technology are not automatically the same thing.
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The Federal Reserve raised interest rates, yet Treasury yields continued climbing.
That creates an uncomfortable question for policymakers.
Are the Fed’s traditional tools still working the way they once did?
In Episode 308 of The Secret War on Cash, Dean Heskin and Chris Agelastos of Swiss America Trading examine the latest pressure in the Treasury market and what higher yields could mean for the broader economy.
Dean discusses reports that markets are pricing in a more aggressive path of future interest-rate increases as central banks respond to inflation and other economic pressures.
Chris focuses on the reaction following the Fed’s recent rate move.
Treasury yields did not decline significantly.
If anything, the market continued applying pressure.
That matters because higher rates and Treasury yields affect far more than Wall Street.
They influence mortgages, housing transactions, business borrowing and economic growth.
Chris notes that housing activity in the Phoenix area appears to have slowed, with homes remaining on the market longer as buyers confront elevated prices and financing costs.
Higher rates also create a serious problem for Washington.
The federal government already carries an enormous debt burden. As borrowing costs rise, servicing that debt becomes increasingly expensive.
The Fed therefore faces a difficult balance.
Keeping rates high may help restrain inflation, but it can also weaken economic growth and increase debt costs.
Lowering rates too quickly risks allowing inflationary pressure to persist.
Dean then turns to Switzerland.
The Swiss National Bank is discussed in the program as keeping its policy rate at zero while reported inflation sits near 0.8%, inside its targeted range.
The transcript also discusses expectations that Switzerland could begin raising rates during 2027.
The Swiss economy cannot be compared directly with the United States.
The dollar’s reserve-currency role, America’s enormous economy and Washington’s global financial responsibilities make the U.S. situation much more complicated.
But Dean argues that the contrast illustrates how much fiscal room America has surrendered through persistent debt and deficits.
Reserve-currency status gave the United States extraordinary financial latitude.
The question is whether policymakers used too much of it.
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Artificial intelligence could become one of the most important technologies in modern history.

It could also produce one of the largest investment bubbles.

In Episode 307 of The Secret War on Cash, Dean Heskin and Chris Agelastos of Swiss America Trading examine warnings from Michael Burry and Ray Dalio about the financial structure developing underneath the AI boom.

Burry has raised concerns about roughly $3 trillion in commitments associated with major hyperscalers including Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Oracle.

Many of those commitments involve future leases, infrastructure projects, data centers and other spending that may not appear on corporate balance sheets in the same way as conventional debt.

That creates a potentially important timing mismatch.

AI technology can evolve dramatically within 12 to 18 months.

Major data centers may require three to five years to plan and construct.

Companies may therefore be committing enormous amounts of capital to infrastructure designed for a technology that can change significantly before the buildings are even completed.

The conversation then turns to Ray Dalio.

Dalio argues that AI may ultimately deliver enormous productivity gains while still producing a speculative bubble.

Transformative technology does not automatically make every associated investment attractive at every valuation.

The internet changed the world, but many dot-com companies still failed.

AI could follow a similar path.

The episode also explores the effect on workers and consumers if AI dramatically increases productivity while reducing employment in certain fields.

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The U.S. dollar remains the dominant currency in global foreign-exchange markets.

So why does de-dollarization continue to attract so much attention?

In Episode 306 of The Secret War on Cash, Dean Heskin and Chris Agelastos of Swiss America Trading examine China’s upcoming role as BRICS chair in 2027 and what it could mean for efforts to increase local-currency trade among member countries.

The conversation then turns to a headline declaring that the U.S. dollar accounts for approximately 89% of the global forex market.

That statistic sounds overwhelming, but there is an important technical detail.

A foreign-exchange transaction always contains two currencies.

The Bank for International Settlements therefore counts the currency on each side of a trade. As a result, percentages for all currencies add up to roughly 200%, not 100%.

The dollar was on one side of 89.2% of global FX trades in April 2025. The euro appeared on 28.9%, the Japanese yen on 16.8%, and the Chinese renminbi on 8.5%.

Those figures confirm that the dollar remains deeply entrenched in the global financial system.

But dollar dominance and de-dollarization can occur simultaneously.

The dollar can remain the most important international currency while individual countries gradually increase local-currency settlement, build alternative payment systems or diversify portions of their reserves.

The key question is not whether the dollar disappears overnight.

It is whether its share of global finance gradually erodes over many years.

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Artificial intelligence may be digital, but the infrastructure powering it is very physical.

In Episode 305 of The Secret War on Cash, Dean Heskin and Chris Agelastos of Swiss America Trading examine the enormous energy requirements behind America’s rapidly expanding AI data-center industry.

The article discussed in the program forecasts that U.S. data centers could eventually consume extraordinary quantities of natural gas as companies build the computing infrastructure needed to train and operate advanced AI systems.

Natural gas offers advantages because it is comparatively inexpensive and can provide reliable electricity generation.

But increased demand creates another question.

What happens to natural-gas prices when data centers begin consuming dramatically more fuel?

Dean and Chris discuss the potential impact on ordinary consumers, including households that rely on natural gas for winter heating.

The conversation then shifts from AI’s economic cost to its potential technological risk.

President Donald Trump has publicly pushed back against calls for slowing AI development, emphasizing the importance of America maintaining its lead over China.

Dean and Chris understand the strategic argument. If the United States deliberately slows development while international competitors continue advancing, America could surrender technological leadership in one of the most consequential technologies of the century.

But the hosts also discuss warnings coming from technology leaders themselves.

Executives and researchers at leading AI companies have acknowledged that capabilities are advancing rapidly and that safety, monitoring and alignment systems must continue improving alongside them.

The issue is therefore not simply whether AI development should continue.

The harder question is how quickly it should proceed, how it should be monitored and who should be responsible for making sure increasingly powerful systems remain under meaningful human control.

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The Federal Reserve is confronting a problem with no obvious painless solution.
In Episode 304 of The Secret War on Cash, Dean Heskin and Chris Agelastos of Swiss America Trading examine expectations for another Federal Reserve interest-rate increase and the conflicting economic pressures behind the decision.
Higher interest rates are one of the traditional tools central banks use to slow inflation. By making borrowing more expensive, policymakers can reduce demand and potentially ease upward price pressure.
But America’s current fiscal situation makes that strategy considerably more complicated.
With an enormous national debt, higher rates can increase the federal government’s borrowing and debt-service costs. Consumers and businesses also feel the effects through mortgages, auto loans, credit and financing.
The hosts discuss President Donald Trump’s opposition to higher rates and the possibility that Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh could face some of the same political tension experienced by his predecessor, Jerome Powell.
Energy creates another obstacle.
Dean and Chris discuss oil above $100 per barrel and sharply elevated gasoline and diesel prices. Because diesel is essential to trucking and transportation, those fuel costs can spread throughout the supply chain.
That raises a difficult question: how much can higher interest rates accomplish when part of the inflation problem is being driven by geopolitical conflict and energy shortages?
Lowering or holding rates presents its own risk. Easier money can support economic activity, but it may also prolong or intensify inflation.
The result is the monetary-policy catch-22 at the center of this episode:
Raise rates, and debt becomes more expensive.
Keep rates lower, and inflation may remain stronger.
Dean and Chris close by discussing physical gold and silver as assets that have historically been used as part of an inflation and monetary-risk diversification strategy.
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You may never put diesel into your own vehicle, but you still depend on it for the goods and services you use every day.
In Episode 303 of The Secret War on Cash, Dean Heskin and Chris Agelastos of Swiss America Trading examine rising gasoline and diesel prices and the wider economic consequences of higher energy costs.
The hosts begin with fuel-price reports from Labor Day weekend and the continuing uncertainty surrounding the conflict involving Iran. They also discuss the Russia-Ukraine war, attacks on Russian refining infrastructure and the potential effects on diesel supply.
Chris explains why diesel is especially important to school buses, trucking, farming, construction and the transportation of food and other consumer goods. When fuel costs rise, businesses may pass those expenses along to customers, reducing the amount of discretionary income households have available.
The episode then turns to a Yahoo Finance article concerning the national debt and rising Treasury yields.
Dean questions whether policymakers are taking the debt burden seriously enough, while Chris explains how higher debt can produce greater interest expense, larger deficits and additional borrowing. Investors may then demand higher yields, making the cycle more difficult to control.
The conversation also addresses the debate over government spending, the challenges facing both political parties and why the hosts believe continued fiscal pressure can affect confidence in the U.S. dollar.
Dean and Chris conclude by connecting those concerns with central-bank gold purchases and the importance of considering physical gold and silver as part of a diversified financial strategy.
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Why are central banks continuing to buy physical gold while reducing their reliance on the U.S. dollar?
In Episode 302 of The Secret War on Cash, Swiss America Trading’s Dean Heskin and Chris Agelastos examine reported central-bank gold purchases in July, including approximately 20 tons attributed to China out of 23 tons discussed in the program.
The hosts connect that buying with a longer-term reserve-diversification trend. They discuss survey findings indicating that most central banks expect global gold reserves to increase, while a substantial majority expect the dollar’s share of reserves to decline.
Dean and Chris also consider why the United States does not appear to be adding to its gold holdings at the same pace as other nations. That leads to the Fort Knox debate, the country’s enormous debt burden and the question of whether American monetary policy leaves room for additional gold accumulation.
The conversation then turns to gold repatriation. Some countries are seeking to bring reserves stored abroad closer to home, citing security and geopolitical considerations. The hosts discuss what those decisions may indicate about changing perceptions of financial risk.
In the second half, Dean and Chris examine the 1970s as a historical comparison for the current precious-metals market. They discuss how gold can rise even during periods of higher interest rates and how sudden price movements can make market timing difficult.
Their conclusion is that physical gold and silver should be considered according to an investor’s objectives and need for diversification, rather than relying on a prediction of the exact market bottom.
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