There’s a huge development out of Washington this morning that lines up exactly with one of my favorite trends for 2026: the race to secure rare earths and critical minerals.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers just introduced legislation to create a $2.5 billion “Strategic Resilience Reserve” for critical minerals — essentially a stockpile designed to secure domestic supply of the raw materials that power our entire future economy.
Here’s why that matters — and why I’m calling this bullish for the sector:
These Materials Aren’t Niche — They’re Foundational.
Rare earth elements, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and other critical metals are the building blocks of everything from electric vehicles and data centers to defense systems, robotics, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence hardware.
Without reliable access to these supplies, the entire technology ecosystem gets choked. Essentially – innovation is halted!
The U.S. is Finally Treating Minerals Like National Infrastructure
This reserve proposal is not just a stockpile — it’s a long-term strategy to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers (especially China, which dominates processing) and onshore the supply chain.
That’s the same kind of macro realignment we saw in semiconductors with the CHIPS Act — and it worked.
Capital Follows Policy — Especially When There’s Bipartisan Support
When both sides of the aisle agree that an industry is critical, investors take notice. Government backing does more than stabilize prices — it unlocks investment, expands processing infrastructure, and accelerates project timelines.
This Connects Directly to the Megatrends of the Decade
You don’t build modern EV batteries, fighter jets, or next-gen data centers without rare earths and critical metals. That means these names are not cyclical — they’re structural to the tech economy of the next decade.
That’s why I’ve been pounding the table on this theme — and why critical minerals and electrification are one of the core pillars of my 2026 Market Map.
But they’re not alone.
Inside the presentation, I also walk through the other major forces that I believe will drive the next leg of this bull market, including artificial intelligence, energy storage, space, global defense, biotech, and next-generation infrastructure. These are not isolated trends — they are all connected by one thing: massive capital spending as the world rebuilds and re-tools for the future.
In the Market Map, I break down:
• The top investment themes for 2026
• Share the top 50 NXT Wave Research stocks
• And offer insights of what you need to be buying today
And just for watching the replay, I also give you two free stock ideas — one tied to the electrification and copper boom, and another focused on the global defense build-out — so you walk away with actionable opportunities, not just theory.
If you haven’t seen it yet, the full replay is live now.
Go watch it before the offer closes, get your two free stock ideas, and position yourself in the defining secular trends of the next decade.
Talk soon,
Matt McCall
Founder, NXT Wave Research
