As 2025 comes to a close, the Market This Month looks back on a year defined by volatility, rotation, and resilience across global markets. From dramatic swings in bitcoin to record-setting strength in gold and silver, investors were forced to stay agile amid persistent macro uncertainty.
At the same time, structural developments at the Canadian Securities Exchange reshaped access, liquidity, and cross-border opportunity for growth-stage issuers.
Host Anna Serin is joined by Bruce Campbell, Portfolio Manager at StoneCastle Investment Management, to unpack recent moves in bitcoin, precious metals, and Canadian energy stocks. Together, they explore shifting investor behaviour, the rise of short-term trading, and where capital may be positioning heading into 2026.
Later, Anna sits down with Brent Gilchrist of JDS Mining and Deans Knight to reflect on the resource sector’s performance in 2025. The conversation spans capital discipline, M&A trends, exploration risk, and why management quality—not commodity prices alone—continues to drive long-term value in Canadian resource equities.
Anna Serin: Welcome to the final 2025 edition of The Market This Month. I’m Anna Serin with the Canadian Securities Exchange, and as we wrap up the year, it’s worth taking a moment to look back.
2025 brought big shifts across markets—renewed optimism in some areas, caution in others—and a reminder that agility, timing, and perspective matter more than ever. We watched dramatic swings in crypto, renewed strength across several commodity groups, and continued rotation through energy and precious metals.
All of this played out against a backdrop of macro uncertainty that kept investors alert.
While sectors moved, the infrastructure supporting Canada’s growth markets also evolved. One of the year’s major milestones came when all CSE-listed companies became eligible for trading on the Interactive Brokers Global platform, expanding global access, increasing visibility, and improving liquidity potential.
Another transformative development arrived in October with the CSE’s acquisition of the National Stock Exchange of Australia. The NSXA continues to operate locally under its existing leadership, now with additional support, creating new opportunities for cross-border listings and collaboration between Canada and Australia.
Issuer activity remained strong. By the end of October, CSE mining issuers had surpassed C$1 billion raised in 2025, highlighting continued confidence in the exploration and development cycle. A standout story this year was Blue Lagoon Resources, one of only nine companies in the past decade to receive a new mine permit in British Columbia.
The company’s commitment to strong First Nations partnerships will soon be recognised with a national award from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.
We also welcomed new listings this past month, including Encore Technologies, a next-generation digital infrastructure company, and Bit Zero Holdings, a clean-energy-powered data centre operator backed by strategic investor Kevin O’Leary. Both are part of a growing roster of technology companies focused on AI and blockchain choosing the CSE.
All told, it’s been a year of growth, recognition, and momentum for CSE issuers. Up next, I’ll break down what we’ve seen this past month with Bruce Campbell of StoneCastle Investment Management.
We’ll talk about bitcoin, gold and silver, and Canadian energy stocks. Later in the show, I’ll sit down with Brent Gilchrist of JDS Mining and Deans Knight to look back at the resource sector’s performance in 2025 and what opportunities may lie ahead in 2026.
I’m joined now by Bruce Campbell of StoneCastle Investment Management. Bruce, great to have you here in person.
Bruce Campbell: It’s great to be here.
Anna: The winter months bring a lot of darkness, but it’s usually when you’re able to join us in person, so it brightens my month.
Bruce: It’s a bit like the resource sector—we’re living underground in a mine.
Anna: That’s right. We’re at the final episode of 2025, our first year as The Market This Month. Before that, the show ran for several years as The Market Recap. It’s been a great year—how have you felt about it?
Bruce: It’s been excellent. We’ve had strong feedback and it’s been a lot of fun.
Anna: We’ve seen more viewers this year, so please stay engaged. If you have questions or topics you’d like Bruce to address, reach out and let me know. Let’s dive into the past month.
We’ll start with bitcoin. Bitcoin peaked in October at US$126,080 and is now around US$92,500, a drop of more than 25 per cent. Do you think we’ll see further downside, and what’s your outlook for 2026?
Bruce: It’s been fascinating to watch. There’s ongoing debate about what bitcoin represents—is it a liquidity proxy, a risk-on asset, a safety asset, or even a currency?
Markets performed well for most of the year. We had a sell-off in April tied to tariff concerns, and bitcoin reached a low even below current levels. It then rallied as markets moved into a risk-on phase.
In the last month, we saw a shift toward risk-off sentiment, and bitcoin led that move lower. It became oversold, formed higher lows compared to April, and has since begun to recover. This suggests bitcoin may be acting as a leading indicator for broader risk appetite.
Anna: How do you manage trends like bitcoin that don’t have long historical data?
Bruce: That’s the challenge. Bitcoin has played different roles at different points in the cycle. This recent move—topping alongside equity markets and pulling back—suggests it may function as a leading indicator for risk-on assets.
Anna: Do you think money leaving bitcoin is moving into other assets, like gold?
Bruce: It’s difficult to say. The move happened very quickly. We saw bitcoin rising alongside metals and resource stocks, so it’s not clear that capital rotated directly from one to the other. The speed of the moves—four, five, six per cent per day—suggests a lot of short-term trading.
That said, the longer-term trend has been net inflows into bitcoin. Some large U.S. investment banks are now recommending bitcoin as a one to four per cent portfolio allocation, which provides meaningful support.
Anna: Bitcoin also seems more accessible. People can buy and sell instantly on their phones. Does that change investor behaviour?
Bruce: Absolutely. Even stock markets have moved closer to speculation than traditional investing. Digital technology has accelerated the speed of information and trading, encouraging frequent entry and exit.
Anna: That’s especially challenging for junior markets, where long-term capital is critical.
Bruce: It is, but it may also be cyclical. We saw similar behaviour during the early internet era. Eventually, markets tend to recalibrate toward longer-term investing.
Anna: Let’s turn to gold and silver. It’s been a strong year for both.
Bruce: Gold led the move, and silver has recently played catch-up. From a technical standpoint, there’s little sign of damage. From a purchasing power perspective, prices are consistent with inflation trends. Central bank buying due to reserve currency concerns also continues to support the metals.
Anna: I’m particularly intrigued by silver because there are fewer pure-play companies.
Bruce: Silver-focused companies do offer differentiation, especially since silver is often a byproduct of other mining. Many of those companies have performed very well over the past six months.
Anna: Let’s finish with energy stocks. Oil prices are down, but Canadian energy equities aren’t reflecting that.
Bruce: Oil is down more than 20 per cent from its highs, yet energy stocks have held up well. Capital discipline, efficiency, and shareholder returns are being rewarded. It’s an under-owned sector, and investors may be anticipating changes in oil pricing as we move into 2026.
Anna: So there’s still opportunity?
Bruce: Yes. Our own positioning at StoneCastle reflects a higher weighting to energy than we’ve had in several years.
Anna: Now I’m joined by Brent Gilchrist of JDS Mining and Deans Knight. Brent, thanks for joining me.
Brent Gilchrist: Always a pleasure.
Anna: Let’s look back at 2025. What stood out most?
Brent
Gold reaching all-time highs was significant, but we don’t spend much time predicting prices. The real question for us is what companies do with the cash they’re generating—dividends, buybacks, or M&A. Capital allocation will drive the next phase of value creation.
Anna: Any surprises this year?
Brent: We didn’t expect gold to reach these levels, but we focus on owning strong companies. Our portfolio is built around three pillars: energy, base metals—primarily copper—and precious metals. These are essential inputs to modern economies.
Anna: Canadian oil companies have been particularly resilient.
Brent: They’re generating strong cash flows even at lower oil prices. Ten years ago, few would have believed that was possible. The transformation of the Canadian energy sector has been remarkable.
Anna: What about M&A?
Brent: There’s pent-up demand. Developing new mines is increasingly difficult, so consolidation is likely. We’re seeing early signs, and I expect more activity ahead.
Anna: And exploration?
Brent: Exploration is critical but risky. Capital has returned, supported by flow-through incentives. Discoveries made today support production decades into the future. While timelines are long, the opportunity set is improving.
Anna: Brent, it’s always great to chat. Thanks for joining us.
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