Copper Hits Record $6.95 a Pound, Testing Bitcoin (BTC)'s Store-of-Value Case

Copper Futures Hit $6.95 Record

Copper futures set a fresh all-time high of $6.95 per pound on September 22, capping a year in which the industrial metal and gold have moved in strikingly opposite directions. The record has reopened a debate that reaches well beyond commodities desks: can copper begin closing the gap with gold as a store of value? Unlike a monetary asset, copper is priced by industrial consumption — wiring, power grids and electronics — which makes a record high during a flat year for bullion genuinely unusual. The six-month copper chart puts the metal up roughly 20% in 2026, heading toward one of its strongest annual performances on record, while the trailing twelve-month gain widens to more than 46%. Two forces carry the move: a concentrated copper bet by investor Michael Burry and a supply picture that keeps tightening, with tariff uncertainty pushing buyers to position ahead of Washington's pending import decisions. Gold has barely responded, adding just 0.02% over the same stretch — and that flat line conceals a wilder ride beneath it. Bullion climbed past $5,600 per ounce in late January 2026 on safe-haven flows, crashed within days, and has spent the months since clawing its way back toward flat. Copper absorbed a shock of its own in September, when a stalled US tariff plan briefly stripped almost 8% from the price, but the metal erased that pullback and pressed on to fresh records. For investors whose scarce-asset exposure runs through vehicles such as the S&P 500 ETF, the 2026 divergence suggests the market is repricing what counts as scarce across asset classes.