---
title: "Monetary Metals Review 2026: Gold Lease Yields, Fees, and What Happens if a Lessee Fails"
url: https://altstreet.investments/platforms/reviews/monetary-metals
kind: platform-review
updated: 2026-11-11
description: "Monetary Metals review 2026: a yield in ounces for leasing gold and silver to an affiliate that subleases it (3.93% weighted lease rate on November 11, 2026), no storage fee, a 0.40% to 0.75% spread; what happens if a lessee fails; the AgaBullion seizure with no published size; the Bunker Hill silver bond and Akobo restructuring by the borrowers' own account."
publisher: AltStreet (https://altstreet.investments)
license: Public factual pages may be read, quoted and cited with attribution and a link. Bulk redistribution is not permitted.
---

# Monetary Metals Review 2026: Gold Lease Yields, Fees, and What Happens if a Lessee Fails

Monetary Metals pays a yield in ounces on gold and silver that clients let it lease to jewelers, refiners, dealers and mints, and a yield in ounces changes what the owner is exposed to. Leased metal leaves the vault for a lease with an affiliated counterparty ('Agent and Lessee are affiliated parties') that subleases it to an underlying business, and the company's disclaimer says 'some or all of your leased metal may not be returned to you'. Streamex, a lessor into the same program, describes its own arrangement to the SEC this way: 'The counterparty does not guarantee payment, and the Company is ultimately dependent on collection from a small number of underlying lessees'. The home page shows a weighted average lease rate of 3.93%, and 5.89% across leases and bonds, as captured on November 11, 2026; Wayback captures of the same page showed 3.12%, 3.27% and 3.32% in January, July and October 2025. There is no storage fee; the costs are a 0.40% to 0.75% spread when metal is bought or sold and the gap between what the lessee pays and what the client receives, which the company keeps. On January 26, 2026 the company said 'some of the gold leased to AgaBullion was seized by the Turkish authorities'; the quantity, any recovery or insurance proceeds and any write-down of client balances have not been published, the AgaBullion deal pages return 404, and FAQ answers embedded on the site with no cutoff date still said 'zero defaults and zero loss of metal' on November 11, 2026. Accredited investors can also buy gold and silver bonds of three Bond LLCs that lend to miners, placed through Ashton Stewart & Co., and the company's own gold bonds. The largest Bond LLC loan, 1,199,742 ounces of silver advanced to Bunker Hill, was performing with covenants met at June 30, 2026, the date of the borrower's latest quarterly report; the borrower discloses restructuring discussions on its interest payments.

AltStreet score: 38.5 (C-), scored November 12, 2026. Method: https://altstreet.investments/platforms

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Platform | Monetary Metals |
| What it is | Precious metals lease and bond platform (leases open to non-accredited investors, which the company says are not securities; Rule 506 gold and silver bonds for accredited investors) |
| Asset class | Gold and silver held in an allocated pool and leased to businesses for a yield paid in ounces; gold and silver denominated bonds of miners and of the company |
| Website | monetary-metals.com |
| Review first published | November 11, 2026 |
| Last updated | November 11, 2026 |
| AltStreet relationship | None: no affiliate, sponsorship or partnership |

## The short version

What you get: a yield paid in ounces on gold or silver you deposit (10 ounces of gold or 1,000 ounces of silver minimum), earned by leasing it under an opt-out program to businesses the company names on its deals pages, plus, for accredited investors, gold and silver bonds of miners and of Monetary Metals itself. The home page shows '3.93%' as 'The weighted average return in gold of all active leases, annualized' and '5.89%' across leases and bonds, as captured on November 11, 2026; the same page showed 3.12% on January 11, 2025, 3.27% on July 12, 2025 and 3.32% on October 7, 2025 (Wayback). Live deal cards show client net rates of 3.00% to 4.00% on leases, 12.00% on the Bunker Hill silver bond and 19.00% on the Akobo gold bond. Who bears a lessee default: the disclaimer says 'some or all of your leased metal may not be returned to you' and that 'Agent and Lessee are affiliated parties'; Streamex, a lessor into the program, told the SEC of its own arrangement that 'The counterparty does not guarantee payment' and that its gold 'may be commingled with gold from other lessors ... and other lessors may receive more favorable terms or priority in enforcement scenarios'; the company's supplemental insurance covers 'some, but not all, of our leases'. What it costs: no storage, insurance or account fee; a spread of 0.75% (under $250,000), 0.55% ($250,000 to $1 million) or 0.40% ($1 million or more) when metal is bought or sold; and the difference between the lessee's rate and the client's rate, which is Monetary Metals' revenue ('Acme is paying 5.5% ... clients in the lease are earning 3% ... The 2.5% difference is what Monetary Metals earns'). What has happened: on January 26, 2026 the company said 'some of the gold leased to AgaBullion was seized by the Turkish authorities'; no quantity, recovery, insurance proceeds or write-down of client balances has been published, the AgaBullion deal pages return 404, 'zero losses' left the home page between December 11 and 28, 2025, and two answers in the entity FAQ with no cutoff date still say 'zero defaults and zero loss of metal' and 'zero defaults, zero loss of metal, zero late payments'; a third gives the same record 'since inception in 2016 through January 2025', a period that ends before the seizure. Akobo Minerals, the 19% borrower, says its loan was restructured in February 2024 and again between May and September 2025 with a standstill, an interest waiver from August 15, 2025 to February 15, 2026 and permission for the balance to grow to 10,490 ounces before default. Bunker Hill, the silver borrower (renamed Bunker Hill Silver Corp. on November 6, 2026), reports covenants met and no default at June 30, 2026, the date of its latest quarterly report, a rate cut from 15% to 13.5% on August 9, 2025 'while the underlying Monetary Metals bond with investors remain unchanged', a working capital deficit of $11,785,832 and a new risk factor on restructuring 'scheduled interest payments'. The Form D record shows 15 offerings with $49,888,486 filed as sold, of which $39.47 million is the three bond vehicles, $4.35 million is the company's own equity and $5.945 million is a 2024 company debt notice; a $40 million company debt notice filed November 9, 2026 shows $0 sold and 90 investors, a week after a release announcing a $38 million company gold bond; the filing does not say they are the same bond. Bond I's and Bond II's borrowers are not named in any filing, and the bond terms investors hold are not filed. A federal lawsuit, Zein v. Monetary Metals & Company (D. Ariz. 2:26-cv-02222, filed April 1, 2026), is in discovery with a counterclaim; no pleading has been read.

- **'May not be returned'** The disclaimer: if the Lessee's or sublessee's performance 'are impaired for any reason, some or all of your leased metal may not be returned to you'. Streamex's 10-Q, on its own arrangement: 'The counterparty does not guarantee payment'. Insurance: lessee policies naming Monetary Metals as loss payee, and a company policy for 'some, but not all' leases. A lessee default falls on the lessors, mitigated by insurance and recovery.
- **3.93%** 'The weighted average return in gold of all active leases, annualized', home page, as captured on November 11, 2026, with 5.89% across leases and bonds ('part of this return calculation is unrealized'). Wayback: 3.12% (January 11, 2025), 3.27% (July 12, 2025), 3.32% (October 7, 2025 and January 4, 2026), 3.93% (April 1, 2026). A company rate by date, not a record of ounces paid.
- **0.40% to 0.75%** The buy and sell spread by account size; the FAQ says 'We do not charge any storage or insurance fees' and that the company's revenue is the gap between the lessee's rate and the client's rate. Gross lessee rates are not published ('please contact us'); the entity FAQ says a storage fee may be charged on 30 days' notice.
- **'Some of the gold'** Seized by Turkish authorities from AgaBullion, per the company's January 26, 2026 statement; 'all lease fees have been paid through March' (no year given) and updates go 'to impacted clients only'. Ounces leased, ounces seized, clients affected, payments since the statement, any recovery or insurance proceeds and any write-down of client balances are unpublished nine months later. FAQ answers with no cutoff date still say 'zero defaults and zero loss of metal'.
- **1,199,742 oz** Silver advanced to Bunker Hill's subsidiary in seven tranches (August 2024 to January 2026), $39.1 million at advance prices (AltStreet's sum of the borrower's tranche table), repayable in cash or silver at the borrower's choice, maturing August 8, 2027. Covenants met and no default at June 30, 2026 (latest 10-Q); the borrower discloses restructuring discussions on 'scheduled interest payments' and an $11.8 million working capital deficit, and its 8-Ks show the Teck and Ocean Partners facilities at their $10.0 million limits by October 26, 2026. Whether Bond III investors were paid on schedule is not in any filing.
- **19% vs restructured** The Akobo gold bond card still shows 19.00% (November 11, 2026). The borrower's own releases: debt restructuring finalized February 28, 2024; revised terms May 13, 2025 with a standstill to August 31, 2025; restated loan at '22% per annum' on September 5, 2025 with interest waived August 15, 2025 to February 15, 2026 and the loan allowed to grow to 10,490.1268 ounces 'before going into default'; about $7.0 million repaid in 2026. Those are the borrower's figures, not bondholder payments. Two entity FAQ answers say 'zero late payments' with no cutoff date.
- **$49,888,486** Filed as sold across 15 Rule 506 offerings on 21 Form D notices: Bond III $30,595,998 (silver valued February 2, 2025), Bond II $8,500,000, Bond I $375,068; company equity $4,347,420 in nine notices since 2016; a 2024 company debt notice $5,945,000; Fund I $125,000. 'Filed for', not raised. No lease appears in any filing. The November 9, 2026 notice: $40,000,000 of company debt, $0 sold, 90 investors.

Data note: Form D figures as reported on each notice (the bond notices state dollar values of metal on a stated date). Bunker Hill figures from its 10-Q for June 30, 2026 (accession 0001493152-26-035678), 10-K for 2025 (0001493152-26-009196) and 8-K of August 14, 2024 (0001493152-24-032162). Streamex quotes from its 10-Q for June 30, 2026 (0001493152-26-038293) and 10-K (0001493152-26-014376). Akobo figures are the borrower's own releases, not SEC filings. Site statements as captured on November 11, 2026; Wayback captures dated individually. The tranche total and the ounce gap are AltStreet's arithmetic.


## Key figures

| Figure | What it is | Context |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 'Does not guarantee payment' | How Streamex, a lessor into the same lease program, describes its own arrangement with Monetary Metals to the SEC; its 10-K adds that its gold 'may be commingled with gold from other lessors' and that others 'may receive more favorable terms or priority in enforcement scenarios'. | The disclaimer on monetary-metals.com, for every client: 'Agent and Lessee are affiliated parties' and 'some or all of your leased metal may not be returned to you.' |
| 'Some of the gold' | The program's one disclosed seizure has no published size, and the site's track-record wording has not caught up with the company's own statement. | Seized by Turkish authorities from the lessee AgaBullion, per the company's own statement; the quantity, any recovery or insurance proceeds and any write-down of client balances have not been published in the nine months since. FAQ answers embedded on the site with no cutoff date still say 'zero defaults and zero loss of metal' on November 11, 2026; 'zero losses' left the home page between December 11 and 28, 2025. |
| 3.93% | The advertised weighted average lease rate on November 11, 2026, with 5.89% across leases and bonds; 3.12%, 3.27% and 3.32% in Wayback captures of January, July and October 2025. | A company rate by date. Ounces actually paid per deal are not published; 'thousands of ounces paid to our clients' is undated. |
| 1.2 million oz | Silver owed by Bunker Hill's subsidiary to Monetary Metals Bond III LLC; seven tranches sum to 1,199,742 oz and $39.1 million at advance prices (AltStreet's arithmetic). Covenants met and no default at June 30, 2026, the borrower's latest quarterly report. | The borrower discloses restructuring discussions on 'scheduled interest payments' and an $11,785,832 working capital deficit; its 8-Ks show the Teck and Ocean Partners facilities at $10.0 million each by October 26, 2026 and a rename to Bunker Hill Silver Corp. on November 6. Bondholder payments are not in any filing. Maturity August 8, 2027. |
| 15% to 13.5% | The borrower's rate cut effective August 9, 2025, while the same release said 'The interest rate and maturity date of the underlying Monetary Metals bond with investors remain unchanged'. | Where the 1.5-point difference is borne is not stated in any filing. Monetary Metals & Co. also received a 2.5% underwriting fee, a management fee, $498,000 of restructuring fees and warrants from the borrower. |
| $0 sold, 90 investors | What the Form D filed November 9, 2026 reports for a $40,000,000 Monetary Metals & Co. debt offering with a first sale on October 26, 2026, filed a week after the company's release announcing a $38 million 5.75% gold bond. | The timing makes the pairing worth asking about; the notice does not say what debt it covers, so the documents do not establish that both describe the same bond. 'Filed for', not raised. |


## Verdict

Monetary Metals does what it says: it turns idle gold and silver into a yield paid in ounces by leasing the metal to jewelers, refiners and dealers, and it names them. The price of that yield is also what it says, in its disclaimer rather than its FAQ: your counterparty is an affiliate, the metal sits in a sublessee's inventory abroad, and 'some or all of your leased metal may not be returned to you'. The record now has one seizure, AgaBullion in January 2026, and the company has published nothing about its size, any recovery, insurance proceeds or client write-downs in nine months, while FAQ answers on every page with no cutoff date still say zero loss. The bond side rests on miners whose own disclosures (Bunker Hill's 10-Q for June 30, 2026 and 8-Ks through November 10, 2026; Akobo's 2025 releases) describe restructuring discussions and completed restructurings, none of which says whether bondholders were paid, with bond terms that are not filed and borrower fees and warrants to the company that no document says reach investors. The advantages are a candid disclaimer, named lessees, a public statement within days of the client notice, no storage fee and a FINRA member on the Bond LLC bonds. The unresolved questions are how much gold was seized, who bears it, who borrowed under Bonds I and II, who funded the last two Bunker Hill tranches, what the company's own $40 million notice is, and what the Zein case concerns.

**Best for**

- Holders of metal they can afford to lend who have read each Lease Opportunity Presentation, keep their core holding elsewhere and treat the ounces received as compensation for lessee credit risk.

**Look elsewhere if**

- You hold gold so that no one else can touch it.
- You need a published loss, default and recovery record before lending.
- You would buy a miner bond without reading the miner's 10-Q.
- You may need the metal back inside a year.

**Strengths**

- A yield paid in ounces with no storage fee, open to non-accredited investors, with the client net rate and the lessee named on each deal card.
- A disclaimer that states the lease chain, the affiliate relationship and the loss warning in plain terms.
- A public statement on the AgaBullion seizure three days after clients were notified.
- Bond LLC bonds placed through a FINRA member, secured on the miner's assets, with the largest one performing and covenants met at June 30, 2026 per the borrower.
- Ten years of operation, repeat lessees (Kalyan, StoneX, Pietro Galliani), continued equity funding and a first bond (Shine, 2021) the company says was repaid in gold.

**Limitations**

- No quantity, recovery, insurance or write-down update on the AgaBullion seizure; 'zero defaults and zero loss of metal' still on the site in FAQ answers with no cutoff date.
- No financial statements, loss record or default record public; audit and SOC 2 are company claims.
- The client's counterparty is an affiliate, unleased metal is held by an affiliated series LLC, vaults are unnamed on the main pages and the inventory monitor is a subsidiary.
- Akobo restructured twice with an interest waiver while its card shows 19.00%; Bunker Hill in restructuring discussions with a rate cut the investor bond did not share.
- Bond terms, Bond I and II borrowers, the funding of tranches 6 and 7 and the two company debt offerings are not described in any filing.


## Who it fits

| Investor | Fit | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Long-term holders of gold or silver who want ounces to grow and accept lending the metal to named businesses | neutral |  |
| Investors who hold metal as insurance against institutional failure | poor-fit |  |
| Accredited investors considering the miner bonds | poor-fit |  |
| Investors who need to withdraw on short notice | poor-fit |  |


## Questions

**Is Monetary Metals legit?**

Monetary Metals & Co. is a real Delaware corporation in Scottsdale, Arizona, operating since 2012 with a lease program since 2016; it has filed 21 Form D notices across five entities, its three Bond LLC notices name Ashton Stewart & Co., a FINRA member with no disclosures, as placement agent, and AltStreet located no SEC, FINRA, Arizona or other state regulatory action, CFPB complaint or BBB complaint naming Monetary Metals in the sources searched (November 11, 2026), with the limitation that the SEC's enforcement pages returned unfiltered results to a scripted search and the Arizona Corporation Commission eDocket and bbb.org were not queried directly. It is not registered with the SEC or FINRA itself; it says its leases are not securities. The record also holds a seizure of leased gold in Turkey in January 2026 with no published quantity, a bond borrower (Akobo) restructured twice with an interest waiver while two FAQ answers with no cutoff date say 'zero late payments', and an open federal lawsuit with a counterclaim (Zein v. Monetary Metals & Company, D. Ariz.) whose pleadings AltStreet has not read. Legit is not the same as low risk: the product is lending your metal.

**Is Monetary Metals safe? Is it FDIC insured?**

No. Nothing at Monetary Metals is a bank deposit, and no FDIC or SIPC insurance applies to metal, leases or bonds (Ashton Stewart's SIPC membership covers that broker's customer accounts, not a Bond LLC's debt). The company's own disclaimer says 'Be aware that leasing your metal may involve risk of loss' and 'some or all of your leased metal may not be returned to you'. The protections it describes are the lessee's insurance with Monetary Metals as loss payee, a company policy covering 'some, but not all' leases, corporate and sometimes personal guarantees and UCC filings; no policy, insurer or limit is published. Unleased metal is held by an affiliated series LLC at vaults the main pages do not name, in an allocated pool the company says is kept apart from its corporate assets; no bar list or vault account is published that a client could use to verify their own holding. The one disclosed seizure, at AgaBullion, has no published size, recovery or insurance outcome.

**What yield does Monetary Metals pay, and in what?**

In ounces of the metal you lease, monthly or quarterly. The home page shows '3.93%' as the weighted average on active leases and '5.89%' across leases and bonds, as captured on November 11, 2026; live lease cards show 3.00% to 4.00% net to clients, and the two live bonds show 12.00% (Bunker Hill, silver) and 19.00% (Akobo, gold) for accredited investors. The same home page showed 3.12% in January 2025, 3.27% in July 2025 and 3.32% in October 2025 (Wayback). These are the company's advertised rates by date; the ounces actually paid on each deal are not published, and the rate a lessee or borrower pays is a third number (Bunker Hill 15% then 13.5%; Akobo's restated loan '22% per annum' per the borrower). Your dollar result depends on the metal price when the ounces arrive and when you sell.

**Is a Monetary Metals gold lease a security?**

The company says no: 'gold leases are NOT securities' and they 'are structured as true leases of personal property under law' (entity FAQ). It files nothing for them, is not registered with the SEC or FINRA, and offers them to non-accredited investors. The bonds are different: Rule 506 debt securities of Monetary Metals Bond I, II and III LLCs and of the company, for accredited investors only; the three Bond LLC notices name a FINRA member as placement agent and the company's own notices name none. AltStreet does not decide the legal question; the practical consequence is that for leases there is no filing to read, and the lease documents, lessee financials and loss record exist only behind the client login.

**How is yield paid in gold taxed?**

The company says it issues 'a completed Form 1099-INT' to US taxpayers and, in its article on the subject, that yields received 'are considered taxable as ordinary income in the year it is received', valued at 'the fair market dollar value on the date of receipt', and 'not deferred until you sell the metal'. The same site calls the program 'tax-efficient' and the entity FAQ says the income 'May be treated as rental income, or deferred if structured as like-kind', noting the IRS 'hasn't issued specific guidance on gold leasing'. Those are the company's statements. Whether ounces received for the use of metal are interest, rent or something else, what basis they carry, and how a later sale of those ounces is taxed (collectibles rates may apply) are questions for a tax adviser.

**How do I get my metal back from Monetary Metals?**

Metal that is not in a lease or bond can be withdrawn 'by completing a one-page form': sold to the company at the 0.40% to 0.75% spread, shipped to you as bullion (the company 'does not sell metal for direct delivery' but ships redeemed metal), or transferred to another storage account; no time limit is published, and dated forum and review reports describe two to three weeks for delivery. Metal in a lease 'must wait for the lease to mature', typically 12 months, and leases roll over automatically unless you opt out within five business days of the rollover notice. There is no secondary market for leases or bonds. Metal leased to AgaBullion has, per the company's January 2026 statement and a reader's October 2026 report, been out of reach since the seizure.

**What happened with AgaBullion in Turkey?**

AgaBullion Kiymetli Madenler A.S., an Istanbul refiner and a subsidiary of DD Holdings, became a lessee in September 2023 ('the 52nd lease', 5% to clients, 'Over 95% of our clients are participating'). On January 9, 2026 Hurriyet Daily News reported Turkish raids on seven firms including AgaBullion and AgaHolding in a gold smuggling and export-incentive investigation. On January 23, 2026 Monetary Metals notified clients and on January 26 published a statement: 'some of the gold leased to AgaBullion was seized by the Turkish authorities', the rest 'is properly in AgaBullion's accounts', lease fees were 'paid through March' (no year given), the company 'carries supplemental insurance' and would file claims 'when and if appropriate', and further updates would go 'to impacted clients only'. Nothing further has been published; the AgaBullion deal pages return 404; a related lessee in the same group (DD Metals, renamed AgaOne) remains a live 3.50% lease; and FAQ answers embedded on the site with no cutoff date still say 'zero defaults and zero loss of metal'. How much gold was leased, how much was seized, how many clients are affected, whether anything has been recovered or written down and whether insurance has paid are absent from the record.

**Who are the lessees and borrowers?**

The funded-deals page names them: StoneX Financial Ltd. (silver, UK), Pietro Galliani Brazing S.p.A. (silver, Italy), Tajvi Gold and Diamonds, Jawhara, Kalyan Jewellers and DD Metals/AgaOne Commodities DMCC (gold, Dubai), Kalyan Jewellers US (New Jersey), Auvere (New York), Bunker Hill Mining (silver bond, Idaho) and Akobo Minerals (gold bond, Ethiopia), as captured on November 11, 2026; past deals include Scottsdale Precious Metals, Brite Metals, GoldSilver, Shine Resources, Quantum Metal, L'Orfebre and IGR DMCC. Releases add Bhima Jewels and Kavitha's in the UAE. Legally, though, your lease counterparty is an affiliate of Monetary Metals ('Agent and Lessee are affiliated parties') that subleases to the named business. For the bonds, the Bond LLC is the lender; Bunker Hill (renamed Bunker Hill Silver Corp. in November 2026) is the only borrower that files with the SEC, Akobo discloses through Oslo releases, and the borrowers under Bond I (2020) and Bond II (2022) are not named in any filing.

**What is the minimum investment at Monetary Metals?**

'The minimum to open an account is 10 ounces of gold, or 1,000 ounces of silver, or the USD equivalent' (FAQ, November 11, 2026), about $30,000 to $50,000 at recent prices per the bands on the company's own landing page; a shipment must also be at least 10 ounces of gold or 1,000 ounces of silver. No accreditation is required for leases. Bonds are for accredited investors, with Form D minimums of $20,000 (Bond I and II), $27,000 to $31,830 (Bond III) and $23,000 and $40,000 (the company's own debt notices). Partners such as OGold offer exposure from 'as little as 0.1 gram of gold', with that partner's own product between you and the lease.

**Monetary Metals vs Vaulted, or vs holding bullion yourself?**

They answer opposite questions. Vaulted sells allocated gold and silver at named vaults (Royal Canadian Mint, HSBC London) under a contract that says the metal cannot be pledged or leased, charges 1.8% each way and 0.4% a year, publishes Bureau Veritas bar counts and pays no yield; its risk is custodial. Monetary Metals charges no storage fee and a 0.40% to 0.75% spread and pays 3% to 4% a year in ounces on leases, because the metal leaves the vault for a jeweler's or refiner's inventory abroad under an affiliate's lease; its risk is the lessee's credit, foreign law and, as AgaBullion shows, seizure, with no published loss record. Holding bullion yourself has neither a yield nor a counterparty. The question is whether 3% to 4% in ounces is enough for lending the metal to a named business through a company that keeps the spread, holds your unleased metal through an affiliate and has not published the size of its one disclosed seizure.


## Evidence appendix

Platform website captured November 11, 2026.

The 21 Form D notices of the five Monetary Metals filers read from the XML; Bunker Hill Mining Corp.'s 8-Ks, 10-Qs, 10-K, S-1 exhibits and 424B3 describing the Silver Loan; Streamex Corp.'s 8-K exhibit 10.1, 10-K and 10-Q; 189 pages of monetary-metals.com captured through Firecrawl on November 11, 2026 including the embedded entity FAQ, the newsroom's 81 releases, 23 deal pages and the Gold Fixed Income deck; Wayback captures of the home page, FAQ and deal pages 2019 to 2026; Akobo Minerals' and Bunker Hill's own releases on restructuring; CourtListener, BrokerCheck, IAPD, the CFPB complaint database, EDGAR full-text search and web search over regulator domains; Trustpilot, BBB and the PMBug forum read as dated reports of what people said. AltStreet had no account and did not see the Account Agreement, Opt-Out Lease Agreement, any Lease Opportunity Presentation, bond offering document, statement or the client portal.

**Highlights**

- Disclaimer: 'Agent and Lessee are affiliated parties. Agent receives compensation from Lessee.'; 'some or all of your leased metal may not be returned to you.'
- Company statement, January 26, 2026: 'some of the gold leased to AgaBullion was seized by the Turkish authorities.'
- Entity FAQ, live November 11, 2026: 'zero defaults and zero loss of metal'; 'zero late payments'.
- Streamex 10-Q (June 30, 2026): 'The counterparty does not guarantee payment, and the Company is ultimately dependent on collection from a small number of underlying lessees'.
- Bunker Hill 8-K (March 31, 2025): rate cut 'from 15% to 13.5%'; 'The interest rate and maturity date of the underlying Monetary Metals bond with investors remain unchanged.'
- Bunker Hill 10-Q (June 30, 2026): 'in compliance with all such covenants as of June 30, 2026'; 'Ability to restructure or refinance the Silver Loan ... a material risk to the Company'.
- Akobo release (September 5, 2025): 'The gold loan can increase to a maximum of 10,490.1268 troy ounces before going into default'.
- Form D, November 9, 2026: $40,000,000 offered; $0 sold; 90 investors; first sale October 26, 2026.

**Primary source pages**

- monetary-metals.com home page, November 11, 2026: '80+ Funded transactions across five continents'; '3.93% The weighted average return in gold of all active leases, annualized'; '5.89% The weighted average return in gold across all active leases and bonds, annualized' with footnote 2 'Due to the nature of bonds, part of this return calculation is unrealized'; '80+ funded opportunities, thousands of ounces paid to our clients.'
- Disclaimer page ('Lease Presentation Disclaimer'): 'Client metal is held by Monetary Metals Treasury/Holdings, LLC, an individual series of Monetary Metals Treasury, LLC ... until such metal is allocated to an active lease'; 'Agent and Lessee are affiliated parties. Agent receives compensation from Lessee.'; 'some or all of your leased metal may not be returned to you.'; 'Be aware that leasing your metal may involve risk of loss.'
- FAQ: 'We do not charge any storage or insurance fees.'; spread table 0.75% / 0.55% / 0.40%; 'The 2.5% difference is what Monetary Metals earns in revenue for bringing the lease to its marketplace.'; 'Monetary Metals uses allocated pool for all metal balances, and yield payments.'; 'The minimum to open an account is 10 ounces of gold, or 1,000 ounces of silver, or the USD equivalent.'; 'Metal that is actively on lease must wait for the lease to mature before it can be withdrawn.'; 'an additional policy ... that is used to cover some, but not all, of our leases'; 'Monetary Metals provides a completed Form 1099-INT'.
- How we protect page: 'Client gold is safeguarded in segregated accounts with independent vaulting partners'; 'requiring corporate guarantees, UCC filings and, in some cases, personal guarantees'; 'Has Monetary Metals ever defaulted on a lease or bond transaction? No.'; 'Our discussion of risks and controls is qualitative.'
- Entity FAQ embedded on every page (version 4.0, 'Last Updated: January 2026'): Q8 'over 75 funded transactions across five continents with zero defaults and zero loss of metal'; Q191 'Zero defaults, zero loss of metal, zero late payments since inception in 2016 through January 2025'; Q201 'zero defaults, zero loss of metal, zero late payments' (no cutoff); Q14 'manages over $200 million in precious metals'; Q20 'audited financial statements prepared annually by Cherry Bekaert LLP'; Q261 'Currently free as long as you maintain 10oz ... reserves right to charge fees with 30 days' notice'; Q286 'gold leases are NOT securities'.
- Newsroom, January 26, 2026, 'Statement Regarding AgaBullion': 'some of the gold leased to AgaBullion was seized by the Turkish authorities'; 'all lease fees have been paid through March'; 'carries supplemental insurance on leased metals and will file claims when and if appropriate'; 'Further updates will be published ... to impacted clients only'. Newsroom, September 25, 2023: 'the 52nd lease'; 'clients are earning 5% annually on their gold'; AgaBullion 'a subsidiary of DD Holdings A.S.'
- Newsroom, November 15, 2022 (Akobo): 'closed a Gold Bond for Akobo Minerals AB'; 'The term of the bond is two years, and investors are earning an annual interest rate of 19% on gold, paid in gold.' Newsroom, September 11, 2024 and November 2, 2026 (company bonds): '4,774 ounces of gold, approximately $12 million USD ... 6%'; '$38 million USD, just over 9,400 ounces of gold ... 5.75%' to 'repay the old bond, implement a gold warehouse facility'. Newsroom, July 7, 2026 (TJS): 'an all-share transaction, valuing TJS at $28.5 million'; 'a wholly owned subsidiary, with an independent board exercising oversight'.
- Wayback home page: 2025-01-11 '63 funded opportunities ... zero losses.' with 3.12% / 7.37%; 2025-07-12 74 funded, 3.27% / 6.70%; 2025-10-07 75 funded, 3.32% / 6.72%; 2025-12-11 'zero losses' present; 2025-12-28 'thousands of ounces paid to our clients.' without 'zero losses'; 2026-04-01 3.93% / 5.89%. Wayback FAQ 2020 and 2022: 'Zero have defaulted'; absent from August 2024.
- Form D notices: Bond I 0001835094-20-000001 ('The bonds are denominated in gold. The offering is for 3,100 troy Ounces of gold.'); Bond II 0001096906-22-002925 (5,000 troy ounces; $8,500,000 sold; 130 investors); Bond III 0001096906-24-001797, -24-001965, 0001096906-25-000119 ('up to 1,200,000 ounces of silver'; dollar values on August 8, 2024, September 25, 2024 and February 2, 2025; $30,595,998 sold, 413 investors); Monetary Metals & Co. debt 0001096906-24-001339 and -24-001501 ($11,101,742 offered, $5,945,000 sold, 90 investors) and 0002134718-26-000111 ($40,000,000 offered, $0 sold, 90 investors, first sale October 26, 2026); equity notices 2016 to 2026; Fund I 0001561287-12-000001, -14-000002, 0001669364-16-000002.
- Bunker Hill Mining Corp. 8-K filed August 14, 2024 (0001493152-24-032162): Item 1.01; Exhibit 10.1 (Note Purchase Agreement: Underwriting Fee 2.5%, first-year interest escrow s. 7.22, intercreditor parties); Exhibit 10.2 (Note: 15% simple actual/360, LBMA pricing, maturity August 8, 2027, cash sweep, cash or silver repayment, Make Whole Fee; signed by Saad Zein, Chief Portfolio Officer). 8-K March 6, 2025 (0001493152-25-009327); 8-K March 31, 2025 (0001641172-25-001495, Ex. 99.1: 'from 15% to 13.5%'; 'The interest rate and maturity date of the underlying Monetary Metals bond with investors remain unchanged.'); 8-K June 11, 2025 (0001641172-25-014702); 8-K November 14, 2025 (0001493152-25-022627); 10-K 2025 (0001493152-26-009196, Silver Loan note, tranche table, warrants); 10-Q June 30, 2026 (0001493152-26-035678: '1.2 million ounces of silver (1.195 million ounces of silver at December 31, 2025)'; 'in compliance with all such covenants as of June 30, 2026'; working capital deficit $11,785,832; risk factor 'Ability to restructure or refinance the Silver Loan'); 424B3 October 6, 2026 (0001493152-26-045950, Teck first priority); 8-Ks of September 3, 2026 (0001493152-26-041365: Teck draw August 28 to $8.0 million; Ocean Partners first draw $4.0 million), September 18 (0001493152-26-043349), October 19 (0001493152-26-047619: Ocean Partners at $10.0 million) and October 28, 2026 (0001493152-26-049106: Teck draw October 26 to $10.0 million); 8-K November 10, 2026 (0001493152-26-051009: Silver47 acquisition closed November 6, 2026; name changed to Bunker Hill Silver Corp.).
- Streamex Corp. 8-K September 8, 2025 (0001641172-25-026853, Ex. 10.1 Tokenized Yield Partnership Agreement: Recitals, Art. I 'Passing Lease' and 'Restricted Nation', Art. IV volumes, s. 6.02 economics, Schedule 1 insurance); 10-K 2025 (0001493152-26-014376: 'The SPV's gold may be commingled with gold from other lessors in Monetary Metals' leasing program, and other lessors may receive more favorable terms or priority in enforcement scenarios.'); 10-Q June 30, 2026 (0001493152-26-038293, Note 4: 'The counterparty does not guarantee payment'; lease income $146 thousand).
- Akobo Minerals releases: February 28, 2024 (debt restructuring finalized, conditional on NOK 40 million raise); May 13, 2025 (maturity June 30, 2027; standstill to August 31, 2025; warrants 2% to 3%; board observer); September 5, 2025 ('22% per annum'; interest waived August 15, 2025 to February 15, 2026; 'The gold loan can increase to a maximum of 10,490.1268 troy ounces before going into default'); September 30, 2026 (about USD 7.0 million repaid in 2026).
- CourtListener docket 73131614: Zein v. Monetary Metals & Company, D. Ariz. 2:26-cv-02222, filed April 1, 2026; entries #13, #19 (amended complaints), #20 (answer and counterclaim, June 17, 2026), #27 (scheduling order), #28 and #29 (protective orders), #30 to #32 (discovery notices through November 1, 2026); no document available on RECAP. BrokerCheck: Ashton Stewart & Co., Inc. CRD 112386; Anatoly Burman CRD 1652002; Saad Zein CRD 2029653. CFPB: 0 complaints. IAPD: 0 firms.
- Hurriyet Daily News, January 9, 2026, 'Officials raid seven companies amid widening gold smuggling probe' (AgaHolding, AgaBullion Precious Metals Inc., Aleks Metal among the firms named; no mention of a seizure of gold). Trustpilot (190 reviews, 4.7, November 11, 2026): a 2-star review of October 7, 2026 describing the Turkey lease as frozen; company reply October 16, 2026 did not address Turkey. BBB: A+, accredited since October 30, 2021, no complaints in three years. PMBug thread April 2025 to March 2026: a partial physical withdrawal completed in about three weeks.


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