Quote from chief_editor on January 17, 2026, 7:52 am

In commodity and energy trading, middlemen are often blamed for failed deals. Yet the real problem is not the presence of middlemen — it is the absence of friction.

Middlemen fail not because they exist, but because they add nothing that slows a bad deal down.

In markets where transactions are complex, opaque, and high-risk, friction is not an obstacle.
It is the mechanism that turns conversations into executable trades.

What “No Friction” Looks Like

Middlemen who add no friction usually behave in familiar ways:

They forward every SCO they receive.
They avoid asking uncomfortable questions.
They rush introductions without verification.
They emphasize speed and price over structure.

At first glance, this feels helpful. In practice, it creates chaos.

Deals move quickly — but only in circles.

Why Friction Is the Middleman’s Real Value

In real trade, friction serves three critical functions:

Verification
Friction forces parties to reveal who they are, what they control, and what they can commit to.

Filtering
Friction removes non-performing buyers, fake sellers, and speculative interest early.

Sequencing
Friction ensures documents, commitments, and costs escalate in the correct order.

A middleman who adds no friction performs none of these functions. They become a message relay, not a value creator.

Why Deals Collapse Without Friction

When friction is removed, several failures occur simultaneously:

Authority becomes unclear
Multiple parties claim mandate
Prices mutate across chains
No one takes responsibility

Serious buyers disengage because they cannot identify a decision-maker. Serious sellers withdraw to protect reputation and control.

The deal does not fail loudly.
It simply stops progressing.

Why Fake Deals Prefer Frictionless Middlemen

Fake or weak deals thrive in low-friction environments.

They rely on:
mass forwarding
urgency without verification
constant price revisions

A frictionless middleman amplifies these traits instead of challenging them.

This is why fake deals circulate widely while real deals move quietly.

Real middlemen introduce resistance. Fake deals cannot survive it.

The Reputation Cost of No Friction

Middlemen who never say “no” pay a hidden price.

Over time, serious counterparties learn that:
every introduction carries risk
every offer requires re-verification
nothing is screened

Eventually, those counterparties stop responding altogether.

Trust, once lost, is rarely recovered.

How Successful Middlemen Behave Differently

Middlemen who succeed long-term behave more like gatekeepers than messengers.

They:
reject most opportunities
delay circulation until structure exists
demand clarity before speed
protect information flow

They are comfortable being unpopular early because they value credibility later.

In real markets, credibility compounds.

A Practical Rule of Thumb

If a middleman makes everything easier at the beginning, expect failure at the end.
If a middleman makes things harder early, execution becomes easier later.

Friction, when applied correctly, is not resistance.
It is risk management.

Final Insight

Middlemen do not add value by removing friction.
They add value by placing it correctly.

In commodity trade, the best intermediaries are not the fastest —
they are the most selective.

Reference Note

This article reflects commonly observed practices in international commodity and energy trading. It is intended for industry insight and trade education purposes only.