Arizona Tribune - SMX's Low Float Infrastructure Story: After Gold's Record Price This Year, Could This Be a Path Back to Prior Highs?

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / February 18, 2026 / SMX (Security Matters) (NASDAQ:SMX)(NASDAQ:SMXWW) is emerging as a small-cap infrastructure story at a moment when gold has surged above $5,500 in early 2026 and silver trades near historic highs. As geopolitical risk, anticipated U.S. rate cuts, and persistent currency pressure drive capital back into hard assets, the precious metals rally of 2026 is taking on a different character than past cycles. This time, the move isn't just about scarcity or safe-haven demand - it's about verification. Today, precious metals are no longer valued on scarcity alone; they are being judged on proof - proof of origin, custody, recycled content, and ESG compliance. In a world where trust is audited instead of assumed, infrastructure that verifies authenticity becomes just as important as the metal itself. That's where SMX (Security Matters) (NASDAQ:SMX; SMXWW) enters the conversation - not as a mining play or ETF proxy, but as what could become the verification backbone of a new metals economy.

Then there's the market dynamic that adds fuel to the story. As of early 2026, SMX reportedly has a low public float of roughly 1 million shares following significant restructuring and dilution in late 2025 - a setup that can amplify volatility. Low-float stocks don't need massive capital inflows to move; they need attention. Add to that the company's January 22, 2026 announcement that it entered the year fully financed through the end of Q1 2027 - including utilization and restructuring of up to $100 million in equity capacity - and the financial overhang that often pressures small caps appears temporarily reduced. When record-breaking gold and silver prices converge with tightening regulatory enforcement, and when a small-cap NASDAQ company is already built for that shift, it creates an interesting asymmetry.

What makes SMX compelling, in my view, is that it isn't selling hype - it's building infrastructure. The company's patented molecular identity technology embeds an invisible, chemical-based barcode directly into materials like gold and silver, linking them to blockchain-backed digital identities. That identity remains with the material through refining, recycling, custody transfers, and resale - eliminating reliance on paper trails or reconstructed narratives. Silver, one of the most tightly regulated and custody-sensitive metals in the world, serves as a proving ground for this technology. Meanwhile, gold faces mounting global scrutiny around ethical sourcing, carbon impact, and recycled content mandates. SMX's platform was designed for enforcement-heavy markets, not marketing-friendly ones. And unlike single-use compliance tools, its technology scales horizontally across plastics, textiles, electronics, agriculture, and non-ferrous metals - positioning it within what many estimate to be a $4.5 trillion circular economy opportunity.

If metals continue their historic run and verification becomes mandatory rather than optional, SMX may not just participate - it may rebound toward higher levels as infrastructure plays often do once the market recognizes their necessity.

Contact:

Sofia Vida/ [email protected]

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SOURCE: SMX (Security Matters) Public Limited

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A.Taylor--AT