In Episode 129 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Josh Crumb, founder & CEO of Abaxx Technologies, which is launching a new commodity futures exchange in Singapore over the next year. Josh was formerly a macro economist and commodity strategist at Goldman Sachs, where he was the head of metals strategy. He is also a co-founder of gold bullion dealer Goldmoney, and Jewelry company Mene. 

In their conversation, Josh and Demetri discuss a curious case of backwardation on the COMEX, which is the futures and options market for trading metals in New York. The price of gold in near-dated futures expiring at the end of March spiked by almost 10% to $70 an ounce above the price of obtaining physical gold in London. Only on a handful of occasions since 2000 have gold prices risen more in a single week, including immediately after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in September 2008.

Josh Crumb explains what really happened in the early hours of March 24, how disruptions to global supply chains caused by COVID-19 factor in, and why it matters to you.

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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas

Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

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Josh Crumb is the Founder and CEO of Abaxx Technologies, a technology collective advancing new marketplaces and software tools, and Singapore-based Abaxx Exchange which has applied for licenses to serve new global energy and metals markets with exchange execution and clearing for physical commodity trading. Josh was previously a macroeconomist at Goldman Sachs, head of global metals strategy in London, and previously founded Toronto Stock Exchange-listed gold bullion dealer Goldmoney Inc. (TSX:XAU), and precious metal jewelry company Mene Inc (TSXV:MENE). Josh holds graduate degrees and certificates in Economics and Quantitative Finance, International Political Economy, and a Bachelor Degree in Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.