For most of investing history, gold has been the ultimate “safe haven.” When fear rises, investors rush into it. When uncertainty spikes, gold gets the headlines.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth most investors don’t want to hear right now:
The Gold Trade May Be crowded, complacent… and dangerously close to a bubble.
Meanwhile, copper - the most important industrial metal on Earth - is quietly setting up as the smarter long-term play.
Let’s Start With Gold
Gold prices have surged as investors worry about inflation, geopolitical risk, debt levels, central bank buying, and the weakening of fiat currencies. On the surface, those fears sound reasonable. But markets don’t move on logic alone - they move on positioning.
And positioning in gold is stretched.
Gold doesn’t generate cash flow. It doesn’t power data centers. It doesn’t move electrons across a grid or enable artificial intelligence. Its value is almost entirely psychological - driven by fear, momentum, and narrative.
That works… until it doesn’t.
When too much money crowds into a “safe” trade, it stops being safe. It becomes fragile. And history shows that when gold tops, it doesn’t roll over gently - it drops fast as sentiment flips.
Let’s Talk About Copper
Copper isn’t a story. It’s a requirement.
Every major megatrend shaping the next decade depends on copper:
Electrification of transportation
AI data centers and cloud infrastructure
Grid expansion and modernization
Renewable energy and energy storage
Reshoring of manufacturing and defense production
No copper means no power. No power means no AI, no EVs, no data centers, no modern economy.
Key Difference Between Copper And Gold
Copper Demand is Structural. Gold Demand is emotional.
Copper supply is tight, new mines take a decade or more to bring online, and ore grades are declining. At the same time, global electricity demand is accelerating faster than most models ever anticipated. That imbalance doesn’t resolve quickly - it compounds.
Gold, on the other hand, thrives when growth expectations fall and fear dominates. But if the global economy continues adapting - through AI productivity, infrastructure spending, and electrification - capital will rotate away from fear trades and toward assets tied to real activity.
That’s when gold becomes vulnerable.
This isn’t a call for gold to go to zero. It’s a warning about asymmetry.
When gold is loved, upside is limited and downside risk grows.
When copper is under-owned, upside can surprise fast.
And make no mistake - copper is still under-owned by most retail investors.
Bottom Line
In my view, the next major commodities winner won’t be the metal people hide under mattresses. It will be the metal that literally wires the future.
Copper isn’t flashy. It doesn’t make headlines like gold. But it doesn’t need to.
It’s already doing the work.
And in markets like this, I’d rather own the metal the world needs - not the one everyone feels safe holding.
That’s where the real opportunity lies today!!
Here’s to your future,
Matt McCall
Founder, NXT Wave Research
