Silver surged to a record high above $95 per ounce on Monday, extending a blistering rally that has cryptocurrency investors questioning Bitcoin's safe-haven narrative.
The precious metal has gained 31% year-to-date, while Bitcoin trades near $91,000 - down roughly 27% from its October 2025 peak above $125,000.
The divergence has fueled a capital rotation from digital assets into physical and tokenized precious metals, with economist Peter Schiff urging Bitcoin holders to sell and buy silver before further gains.
What Happened
Silver broke past $95 on January 20 following President Donald Trump's tariff threats against eight European nations, sparking fresh safe-haven demand.
The metal outperformed Bitcoin by more than 20-to-1 in 2025, gaining 151% compared to Bitcoin's 7% decline, according to market data compiled by multiple analysts.
Trump administration's decision not to impose tariffs on critical minerals - including silver, which was added to the U.S. critical minerals list in 2025 due to its role in green energy and electronics - removed downside pressure from the rally.
The tokenized silver market has grown to approximately $375 million in market capitalization, led by Kinesis Silver (KAG) with $284 million, according to CoinGecko data.
Bitunix exchange launched XAG/USDT perpetual futures on January 9, offering up to 20x leverage on silver price movements - signaling growing institutional interest in crypto-native silver products.
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Why Crypto Investors Are Watching
Retail investors who historically favored Bitcoin as "digital gold" are increasingly choosing physical and tokenized precious metals amid mounting macroeconomic uncertainty.
Google Trends data shows search interest for "buy gold" has consistently outpaced "buy Bitcoin" over the past year, while younger investors are appearing at bullion dealers for the first time, according to BeInCrypto reporting.
Bank of America analyst Michael Widmer projects silver could reach between $135 and $309 per ounce in 2026, based on historical gold-to-silver ratio compression during precious metals bull markets.
At the current 59-to-1 gold-silver ratio, a reversion to the 2011 low of 32-to-1 would imply $135 silver, while the 1980 extreme of 14-to-1 suggests $309.
Silver's surge reflects sustained safe-haven buying, expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts, tightening physical markets, and accelerating industrial demand from solar energy, electric vehicles, and electronics sectors.
China's January 2026 export licensing restrictions on silver shipments have already created price spreads, with Shanghai silver trading about 5% above U.S. spot prices, according to The Kobeissi Letter.
Price Action
Silver traded at $95.16 per ounce as of January 20, up 0.51% from the previous session and 209.54% year-over-year.
Bitcoin was trading near $90,895 at the time of writing on January 20 afternoon, down 2.19% on the day.
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