Insights

As demand for critical materials accelerates, can recycling keep pace? Justin Tolman examines the recycling outlook for copper, lithium, rare earths, silver and other essential materials, explaining why recycling will play an increasingly important role in strengthening supply chains, but why new mining will remain indispensable to meeting future demand.

As confidence in the U.S. dollar-based monetary system gradually erodes and central banks seek to further diversify their reserves, gold stands to benefit from its unique position as a neutral, highly liquid monetary asset. Wong explains why market-driven gold selloffs during periods of stress often reflect liquidity needs rather than weakening fundamentals, supporting the broader long-term bullish case for gold.

Gold is reasserting its role as a strategic store of value, supported by persistent central bank buying and the growing appeal of hard assets amid currency debasement risks. Silver’s deepening structural deficit highlights tightening physical supply across the precious metals complex, reinforcing the broader case for scarce real assets in a shifting monetary regime.

Gold is reasserting itself as the world’s preferred neutral reserve asset amid eroding confidence in the U.S. dollar system, supported by strong central bank buying and rising geopolitical fragmentation. Silver is evolving beyond a cyclical industrial metal into a strategic energy security asset, with demand increasingly tied to solar, storage and resilient infrastructure investment.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has turned geopolitical tensions into a global energy shock, driving inflation fears and forced selling across markets, including gold. Gold’s March drop reflects a liquidity crunch, not a breakdown in its long-term role. As financial stress builds, gold is likely to reassert itself as a key monetary anchor.

Gold’s sharp March sell-off isn’t a failure of its safe-haven role. It’s the result of a global liquidity crunch that forced investors to sell what they could, not what they believed in. As reserve flows stall and deleveraging runs its course, the same pressures dragging gold down today may be quietly setting the stage for its next rally.

Gold and silver reached record highs in February amid volatility as markets adjust to a new monetary regime defined by persistent central bank liquidity and rising geopolitical fragmentation. Structural constraints on the Federal Reserve, growing sovereign debt and continued central bank buying—particularly from China—reinforce gold’s role as a strategic store of value. 

Critical materials are being repriced as strategic assets in a new commodity supercycle driven by deglobalization, fiscal dominance and energy security, not traditional cyclical demand. As global investment pivots toward electrification and secure supply chains, SETM and METL provide targeted exposure to the companies positioned at the center of this structural shift.

For nearly three decades, Justin Tolman has chased discovery across more than 40 countries, applying boots-on-the-ground geology to transform mineral potential into economic value. Discover how a “renaissance geologist” transforms field insight into differentiated investment intelligence in a world where demand for precious metals and critical minerals is only accelerating.

Gold and silver surged to record highs in January before experiencing technically driven sell-offs. Geopolitical fragmentation, capital conflict and eroding confidence in fiat systems is reshaping what investors consider truly safe. In this emerging monetary regime, gold and silver are asserting their roles as neutral, "outside money" with strong long-term drivers.

What are the 10 most important themes impacting global markets in 2026? We explore issues from deglobalization and fiscal dominance to the surge in gold, silver and critical materials, and provide our view of where opportunities and risks may be emerging.