**Founders Special: Fed Death, Gold Industry Coming to America

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit vblgoldfix.substack.com/subscribeHousekeeping: This is a special Founders mini-pod recorded at 6:03 AM in preparation for the days events. Essentially a pure bigger picture “first- take.”Topics discussed are outlined below. UBS Analysis will come at noonMain Topics* Swiss News— LBMA, EU Museum, Immigration* Phys Gold Industry—Coming to America* Fed Revaluation Talk— Death of Independence* Should Gold Be Revalued?SWISS RELOCATION SIGNALS LBMA ABANDONMENT“Switzerland enters this new phase ready to present a more attractive offer…”This line, pulled from Swiss government statements, represents a diplomatic gesture. It also implies a strategic shift in how one of the world’s central gold refining hubs is positioning itself in response to the U.S.’s aggressive tariff regime.The proposal includes industrial relocation to the U.S., possibly even moving Swiss smelting operations—something that would have been inconceivable just a few years ago. Though not guaranteed, the very suggestion implies the LBMA’s physical nexus may fracture further.“For Switzerland to just say that is to basically abandon the LBMA.”If Swiss refiners (central to physical gold flow since the West ceded much refining activity) shift operations to the U.S., the implication is not just logistical—it is institutional. The LBMA, a voluntary association of bullion banks and traders, depends on refining, storage, and geographic trust. Those are now up for grabs.Switzerland has long offered neutrality, security, and underground vaults. Gold stored there underpins physical delivery in London. If the Swiss refineries go, the rationale for keeping gold in London weakens.EUROPE AS MUSEUM: INDUSTRIAL CAPITAL FLEESThis potential Swiss exit fits a broader trend. European industrial entities, such as Germany’s BASF and possibly Volkswagen, have already begun moving operations to Asia or North America.“Europe is becoming a museum.”Degrowth ideology, WEF agendas, immigration strains, and energy policy dysfunction are accelerating Europe’s deindustrialization. Switzerland’s willingness to relocate confirms this shift. It is a clear signal of both U.S. gravitational pull and EU fragility.“The next bright-white flight… will be out of Europe and into the U.S.”This observation maps business relocation, elite and capital migration. When capital leaves, political influence and strategic pricing power follow. For gold, this means potential pricing mechanisms move back to the U.S., ending centuries of Western European dominance.PHYSICAL GOLD MARKET RE-CENTERING IN AMERICAIf refining, storage, and pricing functions relocate to the U.S., America becomes both the regulator and custodian of physical gold flows. This matches the geopolitical strategy of weaponizing market access—both consumer and financial.“When the smelters come back to the U.S.… pricing control comes back to the U.S. as well.”Refining dictates certification. Certification dictates deliverability. Deliverability affects futures convergence and arbitrage. This domino structure cannot be underestimated in terms of pricing influence. It is a nod to gold’s growing importance to US policyFEDERAL RESERVE FLOATS REVALUATION—AND BACKS AWAYAlongside geopolitical shifts in gold flows, a quieter but equally important development emerged: a Federal Reserve analysis paper evaluating gold reserve revaluation.The piece, published by Fed analyst Colin Weiss, reviewed historical instances in which sovereigns used valuation gains from reserve gold and FX holdings to offset debt or fund expenditures. The U.S. could, in theory, revalue its 261.5 million troy ounces of gold from $42.22 to a market-based figure—currently near $3,300 per ounce.“Although it has worked in isolated incidents… it also is a quick fix.”The report concluded that such a move would be temporary in its fiscal impact, last for only one quarter, and would require significant transparency to be credible. It further acknowledged the political difficulty of pairing revaluation with the necessary fiscal austerity.“The Fed is not pro-revaluation.”This professional, slightly dismissive tone reveals more than it conceals. Revaluing gold introduces market discipline, something incompatible with unrestrained fiat issuance. It also decentralizes control from the Fed to the Treasury.Trump’s frequent attacks on the Fed are not just personal. He senses institutional vulnerability and growing public and institutional support for subordinating the Fed’s power—evidenced by emerging terms like “yield curve control” and “Fed subordination” now used by institutions such as Goldman Sachs.REVALUATION AS FISCAL ENDGAME?If gold were revalued, the implications for pricing would be extreme.“If they revalue it, it’s definitely going to go off. A lot higher.”However, once revaluation is enacted, the asset becomes politically toxic for Gov’t to sell to retire the actual debt. The government would likely hedge, but physical sales would become controversial. This kind of cements the asset’s status as a balance sheet anchor rather than a liquidity tool.The Fed recognizes that revaluation represents a sort of paradigm shift in the monetary regime. The U.S. Treasury, not the Fed, would wield increasing power. That shift cannot occur without institutional friction.BOTTOM LINETwo stories—Switzerland’s industrial reassessment and the Fed’s cautious engagement with gold revaluation—illustrate the same structural trendThe institutional geography of gold is changing.