Monthly Roundup: Panama's Tale | A Booming Event | Open Banking FTW
May 2026
May was a whirlwind, so please forgive the delayed release of the roundup.
Our first in-person event—The Path to Alberta Nationhood—proved a booming success and received coverage with the Western Standard and the Critical Compass. We sold out and then, after extending additional tickets, sold out again. Thank you to everyone who attended! One heartfelt moment was the presence of Tamara Lich, a personal hero and one of the chief leaders of the 2022 freedom convoy.
With lessons learned, we are planning a bigger and broader event for September. It will continue the tradition of Capitalism & Morality, a Vancouver event held annually. Ours will be in Calgary, but once we have firmed up details, you will be the first to know.
The May 25 event brought two observations: (1) the investment and entrepreneurial opportunities that will come with Alberta independence are mouthwatering, but (2) there is, right now, insufficient support to win a referendum. I will address the latter challenge via the Impunity Observer, my sister geopolitical publication. On the financial-sovereignty side, I have game-changing projects on my radar, in addition to the autumn event. Watch this space.
Analyst Paz Gómez has continued to sharpen our understanding of the decentralized-finance (DeFi) world. Her latest articles explain Ethereum (and ether), CAIA guidance on crypto investing, and the open-banking opportunity for Americans. Further, her assessment of Panama’s new tax on foreign income suggests the days of traditional tax havens are coming to an end.
The good news regarding my audiobook is that we have now released all the Section I “Challenges” recordings. The following chapters offer practical solutions, before the final three epilogue chapters.
Fergus Hodgson, CAIA
Director, Econ Americas
Panama’s New Tax Confirms New Global Order
Crypto Is Frontier as Convergence Reduces Jurisdictional Competition
Capital-Markets Regulator Fixes What Is Not Broken
Centralization Conflicts with Competitive, Dynamic Regulation
The ‘Flash Boys’ Tax on Market Participants
Michael Lewis Explains the Financial Club That Lives On
The Open-Banking Path to Creative Destruction
US Regulation Is Catalyst for Competition, Innovation, Sovereignty
What Investors Need to Know about Ethereum
Maturing Blockchain Offers Many Entries, Faces Ominous Competition
Media Hits
“The ‘R’ Word Comes to Canada,” Liberty Nation.
“Episode 1065: The Fergus Hodgson Backstory,” Shawn Newman Podcast.
“‘We Cannot Stay in Our Echo Chambers’: Alberta Independence Figures Push New Campaign Approach,” Western Standard.
“Responding with Logic, Confidence to Federalist Fearmongering,” Critical Compass.
Around the Web
“Tokenization Alone Is Not Enough,” NIKOS, DeFi Waves.
“Is Our Money Based on Debt?” Robert Murphy, Mises Institute.
“Danish Left Wants Confiscatory Wealth Tax,” Sven Larson, European Conservative.
“Got $20K? 9 Financial Pros Tell Us How You Should Invest It Now,” Shelby Fishman, MarketWatch.
“How Student Loans Trapped a Generation in Debt Slavery,” Michael Wilkerson, Epoch Times.
“Bad Career Advice: Plus Good Advice from the World’s First ‘Neuroscientist,’” Loretta Breuning, Inner Mammal Institute.