• Real-world asset activity is moving beyond proof-of-concept deployments, with tokenized funds, Treasuries, private credit and commodities increasingly being used across on-chain financial markets.
• As institutional participation grows, the next challenge is building secure, scalable and risk-mitigated infrastructure capable of supporting tokenized assets in production.
• MindWave Innovations is positioning MindChain, an insured Ethereum-compatible Layer 2, to support real-world asset applications alongside insurance, AdTech and ClimateTech through dedicated industry-specific subnetworks.

For years, the promise of blockchain in financial markets centered on putting traditional assets on chain. Now, the harder question is emerging: what infrastructure is needed to make those assets useful on an institutional scale?

Tokenized real-world assets, or RWAs, are beginning to move beyond experimentation. Tokenized Treasury funds, private credit products, commodities and other traditional financial instruments are increasingly being used as collateral, traded through on-chain venues and integrated into decentralized financial applications. A recent CoinShares report found that RWA deposits across lending platforms and decentralized exchanges more than tripled year over year, reaching $7.4 billion in the second quarter of 2026, while RWA spot trading volumes increased approximately 220%.

That growth suggests the opportunity is becoming less about whether traditional assets can be tokenized and more about whether the underlying infrastructure is ready for production.

The Next RWA Challenge Is Infrastructure

Tokenization can make traditional assets more programmable, divisible and accessible, but creating a digital representation of an asset is only one piece of the equation. Institutional adoption also requires reliable settlement, predictable transaction costs, security, governance and mechanisms for managing operational and financial risk.

The market remains relatively concentrated, with tokenized Treasury and multi-strategy funds and private credit accounting for much of current RWA activity. Ethereum hosted close to 70% of RWA deposits tracked by CoinShares, while institutional products can carry average wallet balances in the tens of millions of dollars. As the market expands, infrastructure will be needed to accommodate institutions accustomed to stringent standards around security, reporting, governance and risk management.

That is the market MindWave Innovations (NYSE American: APUS) is targeting with its broader institutional digital-finance strategy.

Building Rails for Tokenized Assets

MindWave is developing MindChain, an Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible Layer 2 network that the company describes as the world’s first fully insured blockchain. Scheduled for launch in October 2026, MindChain will operate through its own sequencer and validator set while settling transactions on Ethereum.

Rather than treating tokenization as a standalone application, MindChain is being designed around industry-specific use cases. The network is expected to support dedicated subnetworks for real-world assets, insurance, AdTech and ClimateTech, with the initial RWA focus on real estate and commodities.

That structure could allow organizations to establish dedicated blockchain environments with defined operating parameters while remaining connected to the broader MindWave ecosystem. For tokenized assets, such infrastructure could support applications involving ownership, settlement, liquidity and other financial functions.

Risk Mitigation for Institutional Adoption

As more capital moves on-chain, security and risk management become increasingly important. Infrastructure failures, smart-contract vulnerabilities and operational errors can carry greater consequences when significant financial assets are involved.

MindChain’s insurance component is designed to address part of that challenge. Rather than replacing blockchain security measures, the insurance-oriented architecture adds another layer of risk mitigation around a network intended to support financial applications.

That distinction could become increasingly relevant as tokenization moves from pilot programs toward larger-scale deployment. Institutions evaluating blockchain infrastructure need to consider not only whether transactions can be processed, but also how assets are protected, how risks are managed and how the infrastructure performs at scale.

From RWA Issuance to RWA Utility

The evolution of tokenized assets may ultimately depend less on how many assets are issued and more on what those assets can do.

RWA activity is already expanding beyond passive ownership. Tokenized assets are being used across lending, spot trading and other financial applications, while tokenized Treasury products have emerged as forms of on-chain collateral. If that trend continues, the networks supporting RWAs will need to provide more than basic transaction processing. They will need predictable economics, interoperability and flexibility to support different requirements across asset classes.

MindChain’s subnet model is designed around that concept. Its initial focus on real estate and commodities provides a tangible starting point, while the broader network is intended to support multiple industries through dedicated environments.

The Road to MindChain

Recent milestones provide a defined sequence for MindWave’s strategy. NILA, the company’s ecosystem token, became available to U.S. users through Webot on Aug. 3 ahead of the planned MindChain migration. Once the network launches, NILA is expected to become the native asset used for gas, steaking and network security.

MindWave has outlined an August-to-September test net period for community and developer onboarding, with a third-party security audit underway, followed by the expected October 2026 main net launch. The rollout is also expected to include a migration portal, block explorer and bridge interface.

These milestones begin turning MindWave’s blockchain strategy from a conceptual platform into an operating infrastructure layer.

The Institutional Tokenization Opportunity

Real-world asset tokenization remains an early-stage market, representing only a fraction of the value contained in traditional financial markets. Adoption is also concentrated across a relatively small number of products and networks. But as financial institutions move from testing tokenization toward incorporating tokenized assets into lending, trading, collateral and treasury strategies, demand could increasingly shift toward infrastructure designed for reliability, interoperability and risk management.

MindWave is positioning MindChain around that transition. By combining an Ethereum-compatible Layer 2 with dedicated industry subnetworks and insurance-oriented architecture, the company is seeking to provide infrastructure for a market moving from token creation toward real-world utility.

MindChain’s ability to attract users, developers, issuers and institutional capital will ultimately determine the success of the strategy. But as tokenized real-world assets move closer to becoming an established component of digital financial markets, the infrastructure supporting those assets may become just as important as the tokens themselves.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.MindWaveDAO.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to APUS are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/APUS

Disseminated on behalf of Quantum BioPharma Ltd. (NASDAQ: QNTM) (CSE: QNTM) and may include paid advertising.

• Researchers recognize that a large share of long-term disability accumulates independent of relapses altogether, a phenomenon researchers call progression independent of relapse activity.
• That shift has forced researchers to look at what is actually driving PIRA. A major suspect is chronic active lesions, sometimes called smoldering or mixed active-inactive lesions.
• Rather than broadly suppressing the immune system, Quantum BioPharma’s Lucid-MS is designed to inhibit myelin degradation, preserve myelin and support functional recovery.

Multiple sclerosis is quietly shifting how drugmakers define success. Instead of judging a therapy mainly by whether it reduces relapses, developers are chasing the slower, harder-to-treat processes that drive long-term disability, and Quantum BioPharma (NASDAQ: QNTM) (CSE: QNTM) is one of the companies building a therapy around that shift, through its myelin-focused candidate Lucid-MS.

For decades, MS treatment success was measured largely by relapse rates. Fewer flare-ups meant a drug was working. But researchers now recognize that a substantial proportion of long-term disability accumulates independent of relapses altogether, a phenomenon researchers call progression independent of relapse activity (“PIRA”).

PIRA can occur at any point in the disease, even in early relapsing-remitting MS, and it challenges the old idea that relapsing and progressive MS are separate categories. Instead, evidence increasingly suggests MS behaves more like a continuum, with progressive biology present from the earliest stages of disease. As highly effective therapies have gotten better at stopping relapses, PIRA has become a larger share of the disability picture, since it keeps advancing even when relapse-based measures look calm.

That shift has forced researchers to look at what is actually driving PIRA. An important contributor is chronic active lesions, sometimes called smoldering or mixed active-inactive lesions. These are areas of demyelinated tissue surrounded by a rim of activated microglia and macrophages, often carrying iron, sitting behind a largely intact blood brain barrier. Unlike the acute inflammation behind a relapse, this activity is quiet and sustained, which is why researchers describe it as smoldering.

These lesions are not just a side observation. Their presence is linked to worse long-term prognosis and to the transition from relapsing to progressive disease, and they are associated with impaired remyelination and ongoing tissue injury. Because this inflammatory activity is compartmentalized within the central nervous system (“CNS”) behind a relatively intact blood-brain barrier, it may be less effectively modulated by therapies that primarily target peripheral immune activity.

This is why microglial activation and compartmentalized CNS inflammation have become such active areas of research. Persistent innate immune activation at the edge of these lesions appears to sustain tissue injury even when standard MRI and relapse measures look stable. Some researchers are now pushing for chronic active lesion measurements to be built directly into clinical trials, since conventional relapse-based and MRI endpoints may miss this slow-burning damage entirely.

The result is a research landscape that increasingly values confirmed disability progression, PIRA-specific endpoints and imaging of chronic active lesions alongside, or instead of, plain relapse counts. It also raises a strategic question for drug developers: a therapy that only quiets peripheral immune activity may leave the CNS’s own compartmentalized inflammation untouched.

Quantum BioPharma’s approach to Lucid-MS reflects that reasoning. Rather than broadly suppressing the immune system, the compound is designed to inhibit myelin degradation, preserve myelin and support functional recovery, aiming at the tissue-level damage rather than only the immune trigger behind a relapse. That distinction matters in a field where the most stubborn source of disability may not be stopped by immune suppression alone. 

The company has also been developing tools to actually observe what is happening to myelin in real time. In June 2025, Quantum BioPharma and researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital scanned the first person with MS as part of a joint study validating a PET imaging technique for myelin integrity. The tracer involved was previously shown to be highly sensitive to demyelinated lesions in earlier animal and human studies. Tools like this could eventually help track chronic, low-grade myelin damage more directly than relapse counts or standard MRI scans currently allow.

In addition, Quantum BioPharma just received clearance to begin a phase 2 trial of Lucid-MS on patients with MS, following phase 1 studies that reported a favorable safety profile in healthy volunteers. The filing included data on pharmacology, toxicology and manufacturing quality, moving the program toward human efficacy testing for the very first time.  

Lucid-MS remains an early-stage program, with its evidence to date coming from preclinical models rather than controlled human trials. But its underlying premise, that meaningful progress in MS depends on addressing tissue-level damage and not just circulating immune cells, lines up with where much of the field’s research attention is now headed. As disability progression takes center stage in how new MS therapies are judged, programs built around myelin protection and chronic CNS inflammation are likely to draw closer scrutiny, and Quantum BioPharma’s early work sits directly in that space.

For more information, visit www.QuantumBioPharma.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to QNTM are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/QNTM

Disseminated on behalf of SPARC AI Inc. (CSE: SPAI) (OTCQB: SPAIF) and may include paid advertising.

• Software can be deployed across thousands of existing aircraft without redesigning the airframe, creating a far larger addressable market than hardware.
• Registration as an AUKUS authorized user gives SPARC AI a permit-free route into U.S. and U.K. defense supply chains.
• Overwatch’s subscription model allows each new connected drone to expand recurring software revenue without requiring additional manufacturing capacity.

For decades, military advantage came from building better aircraft. Today’s battlefield increasingly rewards something different: making inexpensive aircraft smarter. As drones become cheaper and more disposable, software is becoming the primary source of military advantage. A single guided munition can cost more than a hundred small quadcopters, and the conflicts of the past three years have shown that a hundred quadcopters often accomplish more.

SPARC AI Inc. (CSE: SPAI) (OTCQB: SPAIF) is built for that shift, delivering capability through software rather than additional hardware. That distinction is the heart of the investment case.

Why Cheap Drones Go Blind

Cheap aircraft are fragile in one specific way. They depend on satellite navigation, and satellite navigation is the first thing a capable adversary takes away. When a small drone loses GPS to jamming or spoofing, it falls back on an internal inertial measurement unit. Low-cost commercial IMUs accumulate error rapidly, and that compounding error, known as inertial drift, renders targeting data unusable within minutes. The aircraft may continue flying, but it gradually loses confidence in its own position, and, by extension, the location of anything it is trying to observe or target.

The conventional remedy is more equipment: a laser rangefinder, a radar module, a military-grade IMU. Each additional component increases weight, power consumption and cost onto a platform whose value proposition is being cheap enough to expend. Hardening an attritable drone with hardware makes it less attritable.

Software Becomes the Payload

SPARC AI attacks the drift itself. Its Overwatch platform runs machine learning models that identify and correct IMU noise and sensor bias before errors compound. From that stabilized position, the software calculates the ground coordinates of an observed target using the aircraft’s corrected pose, heading and pitch, converting ordinary optics into a precision instrument. Rather than relying on image-recognition databases, it uses line-of-sight mathematics, allowing it to operate over unmapped, smoky or rapidly changing terrain where trained models often struggle. Because the system operates passively, it emits no signals that can be detected or jammed.

The commercial logic follows the technical one. As drone hardware becomes increasingly standardized, differentiation shifts toward the software operating those platforms. Software can be deployed across thousands of existing platforms without redesigning the airframe, creating a much larger addressable market and greater operating leverage than hardware alone. SPARC AI has completed 15 years of research and development behind the approach and holds registered patents in seven countries, including the United States.

Embedding Into Fleets Others Build

Rather than manufacturing drones itself, SPARC AI embeds its software into platforms others already build. Its software development kit integrates with PX4 and ArduPilot, the dominant open-source flight ecosystems, giving manufacturers and developers a straightforward path to add GPS-denied navigation and targeting capabilities to existing fleets. Overwatch is also validated on the Parrot ANAFI GOV/MIL, a U.S.-built airframe on the Blue UAS Cleared List.

Commercial traction is beginning to build alongside product development. In May 2026, SPARC AI announced a partnership with U.S. defense contractor Rate Manufacturing to integrate Overwatch into its Model-F multi-mission drone systems unveiled at SOF Week in Tampa. A preferred reseller agreement with Precision Technic Defence Group extends distribution across Australia, Europe and the United States. The company has also established a permanent engineering presence in Ukraine, working alongside frontline drone manufacturers where electronic warfare is among the most demanding in the world and rapid product iteration is essential.

The AUKUS Unlock

On June 22, 2026, the Australian government registered SPARC AI as an authorized user under the AUKUS license-free environment established through the Defense Trade Controls Amendment Act 2024. Registration gives the company a permit-free route, potentially reducing administrative barriers to collaboration with eligible defense organizations in the United States and United Kingdom. 

Revenue That Scales with the Fleet

Defense contractors traditionally earn revenue by selling hardware one platform at a time. SPARC AI is pursuing a software model instead. The company charges an annual subscription for each connected device, meaning every additional drone running Overwatch becomes recurring revenue rather than another manufacturing project. Management has articulated an ambitious long-term objective: connect one million devices to the platform. Every new hardware partner has the potential to expand that installed base without requiring SPARC AI to manufacture a single aircraft. Separately, the company maintains a relatively tight capital structure, with approximately 19.3 million shares outstanding and insiders owning roughly 40%.

As military organizations increasingly field larger numbers of lower-cost autonomous systems, competitive advantage may depend less on who manufactures the airframe and more on who provides the intelligence that enables those platforms to operate effectively. SPARC AI is positioning Overwatch to become part of that software layer, allowing existing drone fleets to navigate, target and execute missions with greater resilience in GPS-denied environments.

For more information, visit the company’s website at https://sparcai.co.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to SPAIF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/SPAIF

Disseminated on behalf of Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) and may include paid advertising.

• The forces underpinning gold’s recent strength are structural rather than momentary, even as the price itself has been volatile.
• All four of Lahontan’s properties sit within the Walker Lane trend and are located entirely within the United States.
• “This outstanding drill intercept, which includes some of the highest gold grades drilled to date within the Central Calvada deposit, reinforces the importance of the Calvada resource to the Santa Fe Mine project,” notes company exec.

Gold’s recent strength has increasingly been driven by structural demand rather than short-term speculation, and 2026 has provided investors with no shortage of reasons to seek safe-haven assets. Amid that backdrop sits Lahontan Gold (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF), a Canadian mineral exploration company that, through its U.S. subsidiaries, owns four top-tier gold and silver exploration properties in the Walker Lane trend of Nevada, anchored by its flagship Santa Fe Mine Project. The company is currently advancing Santa Fe toward a construction decision while running an active drilling campaign designed to define low-cost, near-term sources of gold and silver production.

Although gold experienced meaningful price swings during the first half of 2026, the World Gold Council concluded that geopolitical tensions, central bank buying and sustained investor demand continued to support the broader market despite elevated volatility.

For developers, that distinction matters because a stronger long-term pricing environment can improve project economics, financing options and investment interest. Central bank accumulation, particularly from emerging markets, has been a defining feature of that structural demand. Goldman Sachs analysts said in May 2026 that they now expect central banks to average around 60 tonnes per month through 2026, supported by continued diversification demand amid geopolitical uncertainty. Per data compiled by Discovery Alert, Poland has been the most aggressive single buyer, leading 2026 accumulation with 64 tonnes through May, while China, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have also been consistent purchasers. That accumulation has coincided with a broader shift in reserve composition, with gold now representing a larger share of global central bank reserves than U.S. Treasuries for the first time since 1996.

This sovereign buying does more than support a price floor; it changes the character of gold demand itself. Central banks buy for policy reasons tied to sanctions risk, currency diversification and reserve credibility rather than short-term trading conviction, which makes their purchases comparatively insensitive to price swings.

That dynamic was visible in the first quarter of 2026. Despite a pullback in spot prices, analysis found that central banks globally added a net 244 tonnes of gold to their reserves, a 17% increase from the previous quarter, while bar and coin demand from individual and institutional investors jumped 42% to 474 tonnes, the second-highest quarterly total on record. That combination, official accumulation continuing through weakness while private investors buy the dips, is the kind of two-sided support that has historically been difficult to sustain for gold and helps explain why Western investors have shown renewed willingness to add exposure on pullbacks rather than wait for a deeper correction.

For gold producers and developers, this environment has translated into unusually strong free cash flow. This gives many miners room to fund growth internally, return capital to shareholders through buybacks and dividends, and reduce reliance on dilutive equity financing. But not every gold company benefits equally from a rising price environment. Jurisdictional risk remains one of the biggest swing factors in how the market values an ounce in the ground, and developers with politically stable, well-permitted assets tend to command a premium over peers exposed to nationalization risk, currency controls, or unpredictable permitting regimes overseas.

This is where Lahontan’s Nevada-based portfolio stands out. All four of the company’s properties sit within the Walker Lane trend and are located entirely within the United States. Nevada has repeatedly ranked as a top jurisdiction globally for mining investment and received the highest policy perception index score of any jurisdiction, reflecting favorable views on permitting, taxation, regulatory clarity and overall governance. The state has also ranked consistently in the top 10 over the last 11 surveys. For developers competing for investment capital, operating in a stable mining jurisdiction can be as important as the quality of the deposit itself.

Santa Fe’s development strategy is progressing on multiple fronts. Alongside permitting activities, Lahontan continues expanding and refining the resource through targeted drilling designed to improve mine planning while identifying additional near-surface oxide mineralization.

The company’s latest results from Central Calvada illustrate that strategy. A drill hole originally designed to collect geotechnical information for mine permitting also intersected a significant interval of oxide gold mineralization. It intersected 30.8 meters of oxide mineralization grading 0.93 g/t gold equivalent near the base of the current resource pit shell, including a rich 10.7-meter section grading 2.18 g/t gold equivalent. Two additional holes drilled nearby, at the south end of the Slab open pit, also hit gold-bearing rock at surface. Those intersected 15.2 meters grading 0.40 g/t gold equivalent and 9.1 meters grading 0.22 g/t gold equivalent.

“This outstanding drill intercept, which includes some of the highest gold grades drilled to date within the Central Calvada deposit, reinforces the importance of the Calvada resource to the Santa Fe Mine project,” said Lahontan founder, chair, and CEO Kimberly Ann. “Once again, a drill hole originally planned to collect geotechnical data, in support of mine permitting, was carefully designed by our team to also intersect the core of the Central Calvada gold deposit, delivering excellent gold grades.

More recently, Lahontan reported one of the highest-grade intercepts encountered during the current campaign, returning 12.2 meters grading 9.74 g/t gold equivalent within a broader mineralized interval. Management said the results continue to demonstrate the potential for higher-grade zones within the Santa Fe system while supporting ongoing resource refinement and future mine planning.

Separately, a sonic drilling program targeting historic heap leach pads and stockpiles left behind by a previous operator has pointed to a lower-cost reprocessing opportunity. Results showed an average grade of 2.3 g/t gold equivalent across the first three sonic drill holes in a historic low-grade stockpile, including a standout intercept of 9.9 meters grading 2.40 g/t gold and 50.7 g/t silver. Preliminary metallurgical testing also supported the reprocessing concept, indicating that a meaningful portion of the contained gold is amenable to conventional heap-leach recovery.

Beyond the core Santa Fe deposit, the nearby West Santa Fe project offers additional exploration upside. Management believes the project could eventually provide supplemental feed to the planned processing infrastructure, potentially extending mine life while leveraging the same operating platform.

Taken together, Lahontan’s recent progress illustrates how the company is advancing Santa Fe on multiple fronts simultaneously. Continued drilling, permitting work, resource expansion and evaluation of historic stockpiles all contribute to a strategy focused on building a scalable Nevada gold operation. If structural demand continues supporting gold prices, developers capable of efficiently advancing low-cost projects in premier mining jurisdictions may be well positioned as the next generation of North American gold mines moves toward production.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LahontanGoldCorp.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to LGCXF are available in the company’s newsroom at ibn.fm/LGCXF

• Earth Science Tech, a growing healthcare holding company, recently reported its Q1 2027 financial results, with key highlights including $9.0 million in revenue, $6.3 million in gross profit, $715,697 in net income, $707,131 in net cash, and $10.4 million in total assets.
• According to the CEO, the Q1 2027 figures reflect steady, compounding progress and are the result of a foundation built in the 2026 financial year.
• The company’s strategy of carefully acquiring and scaling cash-flowing assets across healthcare, pharmaceutical, and telemedicine sectors, is driving growth to support uplisting and attract institutional capital.

Earth Science Tech (OTC: ETST), a diversified holding company, recently announced its Q1 2027 financial results for the period ended June 30, 2026. Key financial highlights included increases in revenue, gross profit, net income, and total assets, compared to the same period in fiscal year 2026 (“Q1 2026”). According to Giorgio R. Saumat, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Q1 2027 underscored the durability of the foundation ETST established in fiscal 2026, with the results reflecting “steady compounding progress and the inherent operating leverage within its business model” (https://ibn.fm/p9BPV). The company recorded $9.0 million in revenue in Q1 2027, up from $8.8 million in Q1 2026, representing a 3% growth. Its gross profit increased 3.1% to $6.3 million in Q1 2027 from $6.1 million in Q1 2026, while its net income jumped 57% to $715,697 from $456,714 over the intervening period. The company also reported a 108.4% increase in operating cash flow to $707,131 from $339,376; its total assets grew 33.3% to $10.4 million in Q1 2027 from $7.8 million in Q1 2026. Furthermore, all its key operating subsidiaries remained profitable. This has had the net effect of both strengthening ETST’s balance sheet and further diversifying its earnings base beyond one entity. Thus, compared to where the business was just a few years ago, Mr. Saumat explained, Q1 2027 further validates that Earth Science Tech’s strategic platform is becoming “increasingly efficient, diversified, and profitable.” ETST also repurchased and retired more than 3.7 million shares, without adding debt to its balance sheet. This represents the company’s focus on returning significant value to its shareholders while remaining highly disciplined stewards of capital. “Looking ahead, we are focused on scaling the business by expanding our geographic footprint, advancing our telehealth and pharmacy fulfillment platforms, and building long-term, sustainable shareholder value,” stated Mr. Saumat. The company maintains rigorous internal standards and is actively focused on driving even greater operational efficiencies. At the same time, the company’s management is expanding its focus toward the capital markets to draw more institutional investors and ensure its public valuation reflects its financial success and future potential. To that end, Earth Science Tech is exploring the possibility of purchasing and retiring Series B preferred stock, which holds super-voting powers, thus eliminating the existing dual-class voting structure that otherwise keeps institutional investors away. Earth Science Tech is also keen on uplisting to a higher-tier exchange, such as Nasdaq, NYSE, or OTCQX, with the company’s move to attract institutional investors being a part of this strategy. The company also noted that the viability of these proposed strategies, as well as other matters relating to executive compensation and governance, is dependent on the outcome of the votes cast at the company’s 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, scheduled for Monday, August 31, 2026 (https://ibn.fm/J1JSz). For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EarthScienceTech.com. NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to ETST are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/ETST

Disseminated on behalf of Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) and may include paid advertising.

• Lahontan Gold Corp. is a dual-listed Canadian/U.S. mine development and exploration company advancing a portfolio of gold and silver assets across Nevada’s Walker Lane, one of the world’s premier mining jurisdictions.
• The company’s flagship Santa Fe Mine historically produced more than 359,000 ounces of gold and 702,000 ounces of silver and is being advanced toward a potential restart, supported by an expanding resource base and existing infrastructure.
• Led by Founder, CEO and President Kimberly Ann, Lahontan combines experienced leadership with a disciplined development strategy focused on unlocking value from past-producing oxide gold and silver assets.

Gold and silver continue to play an essential role in the global economy. While they remain trusted stores of value during periods of economic uncertainty, the metals are also critical to industries ranging from electronics and medical technology to renewable energy. As demand continues to grow, the need to responsibly develop new domestic sources of precious metals has become increasingly important.

Dual-listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and OTCQB, Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) is advancing a portfolio of gold and silver assets across Nevada’s Walker Lane trend, one of the world’s most prolific precious metals districts. The company is focused on unlocking value from past-producing, infrastructure-rich oxide deposits while emphasizing efficient project development, disciplined capital allocation and long-term shareholder value.

At the center of Lahontan’s portfolio is the Santa Fe Mine, a past-producing open-pit, heap-leach gold and silver operation that produced more than 359,000 ounces of gold and over 702,000 ounces of silver between 1988 and 1995. The project benefits from significant existing infrastructure, including road access, power and water, while more than 79% of its known resources remain free of royalties, providing additional economic flexibility.

Currently, according to a NI 43-101 resource estimate, Santa Fe hosts 1.54 million ounces of gold equivalent (“AuEq”) in the Indicated category and an additional 0.41 million ounces AuEq in the Inferred category, all pit-constrained. Santa Fe continues to advance on multiple fronts, with Lahontan recently announcing that an updated Mineral Resource Estimate incorporating results from 87 drill holes totaling 7,751 meters is expected within weeks, followed by a revised Preliminary Economic Assessment targeted for completion by the end of August 2026. These milestones, alongside ongoing engineering and permitting work, are expected to further define the project’s economics as the company advances toward its goal of commencing construction in 2027.

Beyond Santa Fe, Lahontan is advancing several additional exploration assets that could provide additional development and long-term growth. The nearby West Santa Fe project, located approximately 13 miles from the flagship operation, is being evaluated as a potential satellite deposit capable of complementing future mining activities at Santa Fe.

As demand for gold and silver continues to be supported by both traditional investment markets and a growing range of industrial applications, the industry’s focus is increasingly shifting toward projects that combine resource quality with practical development advantages. With a flagship asset supported by existing infrastructure, near-term resource and economic updates, and additional exploration upside across its Nevada portfolio, Lahontan Gold appears well positioned to participate in the next phase of precious metals development.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LahontanGoldCorp.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to LGCXF are available in the company’s newsroom at ibn.fm/LGCXF

• TechForce Robotics recently launched its proprietary Robotic Connective Network to enable autonomous robots and AI systems to coordinate enterprise workflows.
• The company’s Robotics as a Service platform combines intelligent software, autonomous robotics, and recurring revenue opportunities across multiple industries.
• These developments reinforce TechForce’s broader vision of creating connected robotic ecosystems that operate as coordinated autonomous workforces.

Nightfood Holdings (OTCQB: NGTF), doing business as TechForce Robotics, is advancing enterprise automation beyond standalone robots with the launch of its proprietary Robotic Connective Network, a technology framework designed to allow autonomous robots, AI systems, sensors and enterprise software to communicate, coordinate and execute workflows across connected facilities.

The announcement also reflects the company’s broader strategic evolution. Recent corporate updates have highlighted TechForce’s continued expansion of its Robotics-as-a-Service platform through new technology development, strategic partnerships and ecosystem growth, reinforcing management’s objective of building integrated autonomous workforces rather than deploying isolated robotic systems.

The recently announced Robotic Connective Network is designed to serve as the intelligent coordination layer that allows connected devices to exchange information, trigger automated workflows, and respond autonomously to changing operating conditions. “We believe the future of autonomous robotics extends beyond individual machines performing isolated tasks,” said Ried Floco, President and Director of TechForce Robotics. “Our vision is an interconnected robotic workforce where specialized robots can communicate and coordinate activities across an entire facility.” The platform is expected to support deployments across manufacturing, hospitality, logistics, healthcare, commercial real estate, and other enterprise environments through the company’s expanding Robotics as a Service (“RaaS”) model.

TechForce Robotics is addressing a rapidly emerging opportunity as the robotics industry shifts from individual automation toward coordinated autonomous ecosystems. According to the International Federation of Robotics, worldwide sales of professional service robots were nearly 200,000 units in 2024, while Robotics as a Service deployment continues to accelerate as organizations seek flexible, subscription-based automation solutions. As organizations increasingly deploy mixed fleets of delivery robots, industrial automation systems, AI cameras and intelligent sensors, the ability to orchestrate those technologies through a unified platform becomes increasingly valuable (ibn.fm/hMpH5).

The company believes that true enterprise autonomy requires more than simply deploying additional robots. Many existing robotic platforms operate within closed, manufacturer-specific ecosystems that require human oversight to coordinate activities between different machines. TechForce’s patent-pending decentralized coordination technology is designed to overcome that fragmentation by enabling robots and connected systems to communicate directly, exchange operational data, and dynamically assign work based on factors such as location, battery levels, workload, and operating conditions. Rather than simply preventing operational conflicts, the technology is designed to optimize how entire robotic fleets collaborate in real time.

These developments reinforce the company’s broader mission of building the intelligence layer that connects enterprise automation. Through its proprietary Robotic Connective Network, the company is creating an ecosystem where AI models, robots, sensors, and operational software work together to improve efficiency, reduce manual intervention, and automate complex workflows. Delivered through its Robotics as a Service platform, TechForce’s offering combines robotic hardware, software, facility mapping, deployment, maintenance and ongoing support into a recurring revenue model designed to simplify enterprise adoption.

Recent company announcements also underscore management’s continued focus on expanding TechForce’s commercial reach through new collaborations and platform enhancements designed to accelerate adoption across multiple industries. Together with the Robotic Connective Network, these initiatives reinforce the company’s strategy of building an interoperable automation ecosystem capable of supporting a growing installed base of autonomous technologies.

As enterprise automation evolves from deploying individual robots to managing entire autonomous workforces, the competitive advantage may increasingly belong to companies that control the software infrastructure connecting those systems. Through TechForce Robotics, Nightfood is positioning itself to become part of that foundational layer.

For more information, visit the company’s website at TechForceRobotics.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to NGTF are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/NGTF

• WRAP offerings illustrate a broader industry trend toward building connected ecosystems rather than standalone products.
• High-profile use-of-force incidents have driven costly litigation and increased scrutiny on how officers are equipped and trained.
• The company’s Non-Lethal Response(TM) platform combines remote restraint, training and evidence management.

Across the United States, a quiet but consequential shift is underway in how communities approach public safety. Rather than treating equipment, training and accountability as separate priorities, agencies are increasingly seeking integrated systems that connect the tools officers carry with the training that prepares them and the data that documents every encounter. This full-stack approach reflects a hard-earned lesson from the past decade of high-profile use-of-force incidents: technology alone does not change outcomes, but technology paired with disciplined training and transparent reporting can.

One company positioned at the center of this convergence is Wrap Technologies (NASDAQ: WRAP), a global public safety technology provider developing policing solutions for law enforcement and security personnel across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. The company’s portfolio includes BolaWrap(R) 150, a patented remote restraint instrument that deploys a Kevlar tether to help officers safely gain control of noncompliant individuals from a distance without relying on pain compliance. Its newest offering, WrapShield(TM), is an autonomous defense and public safety platform designed to detect threats earlier, coordinate an AI-assisted response and apply proportionate, mission-appropriate force while keeping human decision-makers in control. Together, these solutions reflect a broader industry shift toward connected public safety ecosystems rather than standalone products.

The forces driving this transition are far from theoretical. High-profile use-of-force incidents have resulted in costly litigation while increasing public scrutiny of how officers are equipped and trained. In Los Angeles alone, police misconduct has cost the city $384 million since September 2019, with civil rights violations, police shootings, excessive force and illegal searches accounting for nearly half of those payouts. New York has experienced a similar trend, with “police action” claims, many alleging excessive force, representing the city’s most common tort claims in fiscal year 2025. A total of 6,082 claims were filed, resulting in more than $113 million in settlements.

That scrutiny, combined with ongoing federal reform efforts, has encouraged agencies to adopt tools that create time, distance and tactical advantages during critical encounters. A Congressional Research Service report notes that reform initiatives have called on agencies to provide law enforcement and campus security personnel with training to identify and respond appropriately to individuals experiencing mental health crises. Corrections agencies have likewise expanded their use of non-lethal alternatives to manage dangerous encounters without resorting to higher levels of force, reflecting a larger effort to better protect both officers and the public while reducing the risk of serious injury or death.

Training has become just as important as the hardware itself. Departments that once measured readiness primarily by the equipment on an officer’s belt are increasingly emphasizing an officer’s ability to assess a crisis, communicate effectively and select the least harmful response available. Research indicates that virtual reality scenario-based training produces significantly greater improvements in de-escalation skills compared to traditional instruction, while demonstrating effectiveness comparable to live-action training across officers of varying experience levels. VR also enables highly personalized, immersive scenarios in a safe training environment while generating detailed performance data that can strengthen post-scenario debriefing and instruction.

Layered on top of training and equipment is the third pillar of this evolving ecosystem: transparency. Evidence management and documentation have become increasingly important components of accountability initiatives. Body-worn camera footage can help establish the facts surrounding an encounter, speed the resolution of citizen complaints and lawsuits alleging excessive force, and strengthen public confidence in law enforcement. Conversely, the absence of reliable documentation can undermine trust and complicate investigations.

Wrap Technologies has built its business around this three-part convergence. Its Non-Lethal Response(TM) platform combines remote restraint, training and evidence management by integrating the BolaWrap 150(R) with Wrap Reality virtual reality training, Wrap Vision(R) body-worn camera system, and Wrap Tactics(TM) digital learning, all reinforced by IADLEST-certified instruction and human-centered policy frameworks.

Regulatory developments have also helped shape the company’s trajectory this year. A recent ATF ruling, effective July 2, 2026, classified the BolaWrap 150(R) as a federally recognized instrument of restraint rather than a firearm or “any other weapon,” potentially removing longstanding procurement barriers across law enforcement, corrections and other government markets. The company views this milestone as another step in its evolution from a single-product manufacturer into an integrated public safety platform. For investors and public safety professionals alike, Wrap Technologies offers a compelling example of how equipment, training and emerging detection technologies can be brought together into a unified response system.

For more information, visit the company’s website at Wrap.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to WRAP are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/WRAP

Disseminated on behalf of  Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) and may include paid advertising.

• Santa Fe is a past-producing brownfield project targeting a 2027 restart, leveraging existing infrastructure to reduce capital requirements and execution risk
• Groundwater drilling did not intercept the water table beneath the proposed pits, a permitting advantage, while 40 years of undisturbed Corona-era waste rock shows no sign of acid drainage
• An updated Mineral Resource Estimate is expected and a revised PEA by the end of August, building on a 2025 study that outlined a $200 million after-tax NPV and a 34.2% IRR

As permitting timelines lengthen and development costs continue to rise, investors are placing greater value on mining projects that can reach production with fewer unknowns. Past-producing brownfield assets… are increasingly standing out as a potentially faster and lower-risk path to new gold production. Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSX.V: LG) (OTCQB: LGCXF) is a dual-listed Canadian/U.S. mine development and exploration company advancing a portfolio of gold and silver assets across Nevada’s prolific Walker Lane trend. The company’s flagship Santa Fe Mine is central to that strategy, leveraging its past-producing history and existing infrastructure to support a potential 2027 restart.

A Brownfield Restart in a Demanding Permitting Era

The 28.3 km² Santa Fe Mine is a past-producing open-pit, heap-leach operation that yielded 359,202 ounces of gold and 702,067 ounces of silver between 1988 and 1995. That history is the point. The site already carries power, water, and road access, along with the geologic and metallurgical knowledge a greenfield discovery must build from scratch.

Lahontan believes those advantages translate directly into lower execution risk. Founder, Chair, and CEO Kimberly Ann frames the project plainly: “The Santa Fe Mine is a classic brownfields restart, leveraging existing infrastructure and technical knowledge allowing us to restart production at lower capital cost, on a shorter development timeline, and with a substantially lower execution risk than a comparable greenfield project.” The company remains on track to break ground in 2027.

The location reinforces that advantage. Nevada consistently ranks as the world’s leading mining jurisdiction in the Fraser Institute survey and produces more than 4.5 million ounces of gold annually, offering established infrastructure, experienced labor, and a well-defined permitting framework.

Advantages Below the Surface

Two technical results give Santa Fe an edge heading into permitting. The first involves groundwater. Lahontan drilled nine diamond core holes and two reverse-circulation holes to map the depth to groundwater beneath the proposed pits. None intercepted the water table, consistent with historic drilling. Because the proposed pits remain above the water table, the project may avoid some of the groundwater management and permitting complexities that often add time and cost to mine development.

The second is waste rock. Nevada’s permitting process also requires understanding how waste rock weathers over time and whether it could generate acidic runoff. Core samples now sit at a specialized lab, and the field evidence is favorable: 27.2 million tonnes of waste rock left by the former Corona Gold operation has sat undisturbed for more than 40 years without evidence of acid drainage. That long-term real-world performance provides encouraging evidence that waste rock management may present fewer environmental challenges than at many new mining projects.

Milestones Toward a Production Decision

The company’s development timeline is advancing on multiple fronts. An updated Mineral Resource Estimate is expected, followed by a revised Preliminary Economic Assessment by the end of August. Together, those studies will refine pit designs, heap-leach layouts, and waste-rock storage plans while supporting the Mine Plan of Operations submission to the Bureau of Land Management.

At the same time, ongoing drilling continues to expand the resource base, completing 87 holes totaling 7,751 metres in 2026, work that delivered the Slab West discovery, a previously unrecognized zone of gold mineralization that remains open up-dip, down-dip, and along strike. Key intercepts include 35.0 metres grading 0.34 g/t gold equivalent and 61.0 metres grading 0.26 g/t gold equivalent.

Reprocessing the Pads, and the Resource Base

Beyond the primary resource, Santa Fe may also contain an overlooked opportunity. Historic heap-leach recoveries from the late 1980s and early 1990s were incomplete, meaningful quantities of gold and silver could remain within the four existing leach pads.

Lahontan is drilling those pads with a sonic rig that collects large-volume samples to measure residual grade and confirm tonnage, with 54 holes completed on Pads One and Two and more scheduled.

While exploration continues to add new targets, Santa Fe already benefits from a sizeable existing resource that supports ongoing economic studies. The resource base underpins all of it. Santa Fe holds an NI 43-101 Indicated resource of 1,539,000 ounces gold equivalent and an Inferred resource of 411,000 ounces, all pit-constrained, roughly 1.95 million ounces in total.

The 2025 PEA outlined an after-tax NPV5% of $200 million, a 34.2% IRR, and average annual production near 50,000 ounces gold equivalent over an eight-year mine life.

A supportive gold market only strengthens the backdrop. While higher gold prices can improve project economics across the industry, companies like Lahontan, with a portfolio of Walker Lane assets and a dual listing that provides access to both Canadian and U.S. capital markets, may be particularly well positioned to capitalize. With an updated resource estimate, revised PEA, and permitting milestones expected in the months ahead, Lahontan appears to be entering one of the most important phases in Santa Fe’s redevelopment.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LahontanGoldCorp.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to LGCXF are available in the company’s newsroom at ibn.fm/LGCXF

• Texas-based Solana treasury company Forward Industries has announced a planned webcast leadership discussion of Q3 financial results and a follow-up Q&A on Aug. 12
• Forward Industries is the world’s largest holder of the native Solana cryptocurrency SOL, managing more than 1% of the total supply
• The company aims to not only hold SOL but to achieve investment returns that beat market benchmarks, allowing Forward to generate cash flow through staking
• Solana is a public blockchain platform that uses smart contracts to support decentralized finance (“DeFi”) applications and SOL’s market cap is the seventh largest crypto

By far the world’s leading Solana treasury, Forward Industries (NASDAQ: FWDI) has been steadily building its bank of native Solana cryptocurrency SOL per share to create long-term shareholder value, generating cash flow through staking and smart contract-based decentralized finance (“DeFi”).

Forward Industries will host a conference call on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time, to discuss its financial and operating results for fiscal Q3 when it increased its treasury to 7.55 million SOL (https://ibn.fm/wCPSP).

The company will issue a press release prior to the conference call in which it will announce its financial results, paving the way for the corporate leadership’s discussion and the follow-up question-and-answer session. 

Interested investors can sign into the webcast through https://ibn.fm/gV3bq or phone in through https://ibn.fm/dPMF9, beginning about 15 minutes before the event, according to the news release.

Forward will provide an update on its SOL treasury strategy during the presentation. 

“Our mindset remains long-term as we’re not managing Forward around short-term market moves, and we’re focused on building a permanent capital vehicle that’s designed to participate directly in the growth of the Solana ecosystem and to evolve beyond simply (being) a treasury and into an active value-generating business,” Board Chairman Kyle Samani said during the company’s Q1 financial report earlier this year (https://ibn.fm/tIpLQ).

“Looking ahead, we believe the opportunity in front of Solana and, by extension, for Forward is increasingly clear. While the markets are volatile and in both Solana and Forward our assets are not immune to wider market volatility, Solana is no longer being evaluated on theoretical scalability or future potential,” Samani said. “It’s being used today at scale across payments, trading, DeFi, emerging market applications and more. … Forward Industries is intentionally aligned with this phase of Solana’s life cycle.”

SOL’s market cap is the seventh largest crypto, and Forward has declared its aim to become the “Berkshire Hathaway of Solana,” referring to the American multinational holding company made famous as a product of market visionary CEO Warren Buffet. Forward’s capital allocation strategies include share buybacks as part of its drive to move beyond simply holding SOL and into achieving investment returns that beat market benchmarks (https://ibn.fm/oGLoy).

In addition to showing its strength through buying shares back and raising per-share earnings, Forward is also pursuing a strategy of acquiring other SOL digital asset treasuries (“DATs”) while keeping debt low and using its fwdSOL, the company’s proprietary liquid staking token, to access liquidity.

For more information, visit the Forward Industries website at www.ForwardIndustries.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to FWDI are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/FWDI