AIM at 30: Aquis Finally Comes Of Age
It has been both interesting and ironic that in the week when AIM turned 30, apparently I missed a big shindig on Thursday, we have seen Aquis come of age. This was and is a rather strange state of affairs. AIM has the power of the London Stock Exchange behind it.
This is an effective monopoly given the way that all the service providers, brokers, market makers et al, have had little reason to help Aquis go mainstream, as their main provider the LSE, has no reason to shoot itself in the foot by allowing in a competitor. Indeed, until the latest Bitcoin Treasury Strategy (BTS) stocks on Aquis in the past couple of months, the challenger exchange was being brilliantly and consistently shadow banned by the City. Perhaps the change of ownership last year, at a very high multiple, has helped.
But the success or failure of an exchange is very much a factor of having winning companies listed on it, something we saw when the Nasdaq took off from the 1990s. Now in the wake of Smarter Web (AQSE:SWC) and a growing number of stocks on Aquis going through the roof, an exchange which has had more incarnations that Doctor Who, looks to be on its way. All who love the stock market should rejoice. It helps that there is no (allegedly) shorting on Aquis, something which may explain the massive moves we have seen in the BTS brigade.
This means that even with a minimal amount of buyers the price action can move like a one way valve. This is something which I have noticed for quite some time, there was an element of it in some Aquis stocks during the pandemic, but now we are finally on our way. The stigma of the exchange has turned into it being the coolest hangout in town. If it can help investors make money during a cost of living crisis, it should be praised as a growth company venue.
Bitcoin Treasury Strategy Special BMV, COIN, CLAI, HEV, HRIP, PR1, SWC, TAO, TAP, TIR, BTC & VULT
Is Bitcoin Treasury Strategy A Bubble?
I have enjoyed the way that one self-appointed (delusions of grandeur and entitlement) blogger has suggested that BTS is a bubble. He has been suggesting it has been a bubble / a rip off since SWC was at 10p. It is now 500p, and worth more than a £1bn.
There are two points arising from this. The first is how wrong can you be? You have been suggesting that investors either exit longs or go short, from when a company had a market cap of say £10m and now you are £1bn out in 6 weeks. No mea culpa, and no acknowledgment of how much money people who did not listen to you have made. Just an approach of keeping on doubling down on a wrong call.
This kind of King Canute approach fits exactly into Einstein’s definition of madness. Of course, one day SWC may go down. It may go down 10% or 20%. That is natural in the markets. But why would anyone listen to someone who gets it wrong in such a spectacular fashion. Of course, everyone in the markets gets it wrong. Even Warren Buffet, gets it wrong. The trick is not to say that everyone is has got it wrong, and you are still correct.
The second point that arises from SWC / BTS is whether this is indeed a bubble? This is a complicated issue. Stock markets go through booms and busts. We had quite a painful one in April with the tariffs debacle. We have the Dotcom bubble in 2000, something which lasted around 18 months. During the pandemic there was the furlough bubble, something which lasted 18 months as well, from the March 2020 decline.
As far as BTS, it has not been seen to impact the Small Caps or AIM indices, as the dozen or so companies are either on Aquis, or too small so far to make an impact. As to whether BTS represents a bubble, the answer is more that the UK stocks involved are merely catching up with the MicroStrategy (MSTR), the company in the US which started the trend. What has been surprising is that it took so long to see BTS come to the UK?
However, this does tie in with the traditional notion of whatever happens in the US, will after a delay, move to the UK: rock and roll being a non stock market example. The issue is of course, when a bull phase turns into a bubble, and the trick is to get out when the music stops. This was evident during the pandemic with biotech / diagnostics plays. The accepted rule of thumb is when a stock or market falls 20% from its peak. But is certainly not the case that just because a new asset class is doing well it should be avoided. On this basis one would never make money in the market. This is perhaps what the naysayers would like.
This Week’s Stocks Rising On News
A lot of the sizzle this week was of course BTS related, with the key players such as Coinsilium (AQSE:COIN), Helium Ventures (AQSE:HEV) and Smarter Web (AQSE:SWC). The recent pattern has been that BTS companies raise money at the market price, and the stock goes even higher after doing so. This seems to be a new phenomenon, in the sense that given more shares in circulation one would have expected the shares to go sideways / down. Instead, they are currently rallying harder. This may be due to satisfying extreme demand. It could also be due to a lack of shorting on Aquis. Otherwise, yes, the space is simply on fire, and as of now there is not enough real estate. The outlier view that may catch on is that (for the first time) investors are gathering together in not selling out early, and holding on for bigger gains. This would be of course be a first for the markets – “this time is different.” At least it can be said that there will have been many who have missed the boat / been caught out, who will want to join the bandwagon to pick up stock on any dips.
An intriguing entrant in this respect is Hot Rocks Investments (AQSE:HRIP) as it announced it had acquired 100,000 warrants over new ordinary shares of Smarter Web for £1 per warrant. These give the right, subsequent to 12 months of admission of SWC to trading on AQUIS and for a further 2 years, to subscribe for new ordinary shares in the Smarter Web Company at 2.5p per warrant. The purchase is being made from the company’s own treasury resources. Given where shares of SWC are now, it could be said that HRIP would appear to have struck a decent deal.
There was a decent 44% rebound for Vinanz (BTC), after something of an undeserved delay. The London Stock Exchange Main Market-listed Bitcoin treasury company with active mining operations across the United States and Canada, raised over £3.5m this week, having said last month it would be progressing its BTC purchase strategy. One would expect the shares to accelerate the bump we have seen this week. In my charting video yesterday I suggested that above 25p we could be looking to at least 40p by the end of July. Perhaps this will coincide with the proposed name change to “London BTC Company Limited”?
Vault (AQSE:VULT), a London-publicly traded technology company, is pleased to announce its “11 Year Plan”, of capital allocation, and the integration of digital assets, specifically Ethereum and also Bitcoin, into the Company’s treasury strategy. So far 11 years wins the award of the longest timeframe in the space. Perhaps we could throw a party in 2036 to celebrate the completion of the plan, and my 70th birthday, if I make it.
Tiger Royalties and Investments (TIR), an investment vehicle focused on incubating technology and mining projects, was up 200% on the week as it offered an operational update for its Tiger Alpha Bittensor Subnet. This is generating over $2,300 USD, per day in subnet revenue, a monthly run rate for the subnet of almost $70,000 USD. TIR could offer an alternative to those looking for something away from the vanilla BTS plays. On Friday Pri0r1ty Intelligence Group (PR1), a pioneering company in AI-driven professional growth services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), said it has formally adopted a new Bitcoin Treasury Management Policy. The shares celebrated joining the fray with a 230% rise on the week.
Away from BTS, Directa Plus (DCTA), a producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, announced that on 18 June 2025, Giulio Cesareo, Chief Executive Officer, raised his stake to 4.21%, with the shares jumping 121% on the week. Atlas Metals Group (AMG) announced a proposed acquisition of UPSA. This is take two as far as the dealmaking company getting one over the line in the recent past. The previous copper asset play at the turn of the year, briefly ignited the share price. Panther Metals (PALM), the exploration company focused on mineral projects in Canada, announced both the signing of two option and purchase agreements to create the Winston Project, and a tie up with its old mate Fulcrum Metals (FMET) regarding a tailings collaboration. PALM rose 44%.CPP Group (CPP) was up 35%, as it changed its spots via a revised strategy to focus solely on Blink and to dispose of its remaining legacy assets. CPP said it has completed the disposal of CPP Sigorta Aracilik Hizmetleri Anonim Sirketi for a total cash consideration of approximately £4.6 million.
Stocks Rising On No New News
As I have stated previously, stocks rising on no news is the compelling part of the Week In Small Caps, as one wonders who the buyers in the respective stocks are thinking / know? While Mendell Helium (AQSE:MDH) rose 66%. The last we heard from the helium producer (yes, a helium company that produces the stuff), it referred to successful well testing at Rost in May. Also on Aquis, Supernova Digital (AQSE:SOL) was up 66%. Last month the company said “Solana will be integral to the success of the crypto environment and there will be an increasing level of development of system architecture that sits on the Solana ecosystem.” Not too many prizes for guessing what may happen next there…
Tap Global (AQSE:TAP), the cryptocurrency payment and settlement services group rose another 36% after announcing it will move from Aquis to AIM the previous week. Ironically, it may be moving at a time when it would have been a good idea to stay. Plenty of observers of the company will be hoping that the shares finally join the crypto party.
Kefi Gold & Copper
Although I rarely go to investor events, in the case of Kefi (KEFI) on Friday, I did venture out to the City to physically attend an Investor Meet Company event given by Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, Executive Chairman of the company. The reason for attending the event was to try and work out why there is such a storm in a teacup concerning Harry and his company currently. On the face of it he is now like Moses finally taking his company to the promised land, in Ethiopia, something which deserves at least a solid pat on the back. Therefore, it is something of a mystery as to why some shareholders are kicking up a fuss regarding progress at the company, and Harry’s independently awarded remuneration. Sometimes in the stock market, as in politics, giving people what they want can apparently be counterproductive. In the meantime, any dips for the shares below 0.5p look to be the wrong price, given the progress made, and the ongoing opportunity.
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest:
The information, investment views, and recommendations in this Zaks Traders Cafe interview are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this interview should be construed as a promotion or solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or referred to or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engage in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the commentator but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The commentators may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.
