Founder’s Note: Jason Perz is as aware as anybody of the big IPO that happened on Friday.
In fact, I’d say his insight into the things that will really make Elon’s dreams come true are invaluable.
Here’s Jason with a real look at how we get there from here… – JC
By Jason Perz
Everybody wants the rocket.
I want the commodities.
Investors have been conditioned to think about commodities through the lens of traditional demand.
Housing needs copper. Cars need steel. Factories need energy. Data centers need electricity.
That’s all true.
But it’s also yesterday’s story.
The next major source of commodity demand isn’t coming from another housing boom, another electric vehicle cycle, or another government spending package.
It’s coming from space.
For decades, space exploration was little more than a government-funded science experiment.
Today, it’s rapidly becoming an industry.
Private companies are launching satellites by the thousands. Reusable rockets are becoming commonplace.
Governments and corporations are discussing lunar infrastructure, deep-space manufacturing, and asteroid mining as if they’re inevitable.
Whether you believe those developments are five years away or fifty years away doesn’t matter.
Markets don’t wait for certainty. They discount the future long before it arrives.
And that’s exactly why I’m paying attention to commodities.
Copper Is Already Telling the Story
Take a look at the first chart:
Copper continues to make higher highs and higher lows.
Most investors still view copper as an electrification trade. That’s too small.
Copper is the metal of civilization.
Every launch facility needs copper. Every solar array needs copper. Every satellite needs copper. Every robotic system needs copper. Every power transmission network needs copper.
Every future space habitat will require massive amounts of copper.
Before humanity mines a single asteroid, it must build the infrastructure to reach it.
That infrastructure requires an enormous amount of metal.
The market appears to understand this.
Copper continues to trend higher while economists, strategists, and television personalities argue over whether growth is slowing.
Price doesn’t care.
Copper is making new highs because demand expectations continue to expand.
The market is already voting.
Most people just haven’t noticed yet.
Rare Earths Are Quietly Loading the Spring
Now look at the second chart:
The Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (REMX) continues to consolidate directly beneath major resistance from the 2022 highs.
This is exactly what leadership looks like before a breakout.
Most investors have no idea what is actually inside this ETF.
Rare earth elements like neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium are critical for advanced magnets, electric motors, robotics, defense systems, satellites, and aerospace technology.
If copper is the wiring of the future, rare earths are the nervous system.
Without these metals, the technologies people are betting on simply don’t function.
AI doesn’t function. Advanced robotics don’t function. Satellite networks don’t function.
Future space infrastructure doesn’t function.
Yet most investors spend their time chasing stories instead of paying attention to the materials that make those stories possible.
Space Mining Starts With Earth Mining
When people hear the words “space mining,” they immediately picture platinum-rich asteroids floating through space waiting to be harvested.
Maybe that happens someday, maybe it doesn’t. But that’s not the opportunity I’m focused on.
The first winners won’t be the companies mining asteroids.
The first winners will be the companies producing the materials needed to build the infrastructure that makes asteroid mining possible.
Before humanity mines an asteroid, it must build rockets. Before it builds rockets, it needs metals.
Lots of metals.
Copper. Rare earths. Nickel. Titanium. Aluminum. Energy. The supply chains supporting those materials are being built right now.
The market doesn’t need asteroid mining to become reality tomorrow.
It only needs investors to recognize where future demand is headed.
Follow Price, Not Science Fiction
The commodity supercycle has never been about finding a single trade.
It’s about identifying major demand shifts before they become obvious.
Today, we have artificial intelligence driving power demand.
We have electrification driving copper demand.
We have energy security driving resource investment.
And now we have the early foundations of a space economy beginning to emerge.
The common denominator across every one of those themes is the same.
Commodities.
The future may be in the stars.
But the path to get there still runs through copper mines, rare earth deposits, energy infrastructure, and strategic metals.
That’s why copper is making new highs.
That’s why REMX is sitting beneath major resistance.
And that’s why we’re paying attention while most investors are still chasing headlines.
Price is already telling the story.
The question is whether you’re listening.
Save the bees,
Jason Perz
Senior Analyst, TrendLabs