On a recent episode of the "All-In" podcast, investor Chamath Palihapitiya said that copper is set to go “parabolic” in 2026.
His prediction is rooted in a supply shortage and shift toward what he called the “Trump Doctrine” — a geopolitical strategy of unilateral national security and aggressive economic reshoring.
The Macro Driver: The Trump Doctrine
The Trump administration reclassified copper from an industrial metal to a critical pillar of national security and cited Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to impose a 50% tariff on imported copper, arguing that reliance on foreign supply threatens U.S. interests.
The tariff effectively ring-fenced the domestic market, creating a supply squeeze as the U.S. attempts to rebuild copper smelting and refining infrastructure.
"In the Trump doctrine view of the world, that is no longer as multilateral as it was … we need to have unilateral national security. If you look through that lens, the asset that is set up to go absolutely parabolic is copper," Palihapitiya said.
The “Everywhere” Demand
Chamath said that copper is "everywhere, everywhere, everywhere."
Copper is "the most useful, cheap, amenable, conductive material that we have. That material manifests in everything, from our data centers to our chips to our weapon systems," he added.
- AI & Data Centers: Next-generation AI facilities require up to 50,000 metric tons of copper per site for power delivery and cooling.
- Defense Systems: Pentagon spending is ramping higher, and copper is indispensable for everything from munitions to advanced guidance systems.
- Energy Transition: The push for electrification and grid modernization continues to devour existing copper stockpiles.
Copper Hits Record Highs
Copper futures jumped to new record highs around $6.10 per pound on Wednesday, as the market focused on supply risks, according to Trading Economics.
To capitalize on the copper squeeze and the shift toward domestic resource security, investors can look to ETFs for broad sector exposure and individual stocks for higher-leverage bets on specific miners.
Domestic copper miners include Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE:SCCO), Rio Tinto Plc (NYSE:RIO) and Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. (NYSE:FCX).
Investors can also track the commodity through ETFs like the Global X Copper Miners ETF (NYSE:COPX) and the United States Copper Index Fund ETV (NYSE:CPER).
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