Author: Wenser, Odaily Planet Daily
Original Title: "Poor Man's Gold" Stages a Major Comeback, A Look at Tokenized Silver Worth Watching
Silver, this precious metal asset once dubbed "poor man's gold," is sweeping through global markets with storm-like force. The reason is none other than its terrifyingly strong rally.
Recently, the price of silver broke through $117 per ounce intraday, reaching a historic high. Consequently, since the peak of the 2017 crypto cycle, silver has officially surpassed Bitcoin's gains (approx. 500%) and gold's gains (slightly under 300%) with a cumulative increase of about 517%. Furthermore, according to data from the 8marketcap website, the current silver price is around $110, with a market capitalization reaching $6.18 trillion, ranking it as the second-largest global asset by value, just behind gold. Such an astonishing performance naturally triggers fervent market interest. Beyond purchasing silver funds or physical silver through traditional brokerages or physical stores, tokenized silver might also be an option, especially leveraged contracts on trading platforms and on-chain Perp DEXs.
Current State of Silver Tokens: Only 2 Offer Relatively Good Liquidity
According to data from the Coingecko website, the overall market capitalization of the tokenized silver sector is temporarily around $446 million, with a 24-hour increase of approximately 5.6%; specifically, the silver tokens with relatively better liquidity are the following 2 types:
Kinesis Silver (KAG): Market Cap Temporarily at $406 Million
Like the gold token KAU, the KAG silver token is issued by Kinesis, a British digital asset utility platform registered in the Cayman Islands. Its main trading platforms include Kinesis Money, BitMart, the UAE exchange Emirex, among others.
It is understood that KAG is backed by fully insured and regularly audited vaults (globally allocated storage), with each token pegged to 1 ounce of investment-grade silver; it supports global real-time payments; supports physical silver redemption; and has no storage fees.
Its potential risks are similar to those of the XAUT gold token issued by Tether company: the token is highly dependent on the asset credibility of the issuer and faces certain regulatory uncertainties. Additionally, limited by its small market cap, the market depth is relatively average, and market volatility could lead to premiums or discounts, making it somewhat reliant on exchange management for order matching.
Nevertheless, information on the Coingecko website shows that KAG's 24-hour trading volume is approximately $5.5 million, making it already the second-highest trading volume in the silver token market.
iShares Silver Trust (SLV): Market Cap Temporarily at $39.5 Million
A silver token pegged to the iShares Silver Trust, launched by Ondo Finance, which holds the corresponding physical silver through the BlackRock iShares Silver Trust (SLV) ETF.
Its advantages include tracking a regulated traditional SLV ETF, good liquidity, and support for instant minting or redemption (for users outside the US); it combines traditional finance with blockchain convenience; has institutional-level backing; and eliminates the need to handle physical silver directly.
Its potential risks lie in its primary reliance on the asset credibility of issuers like BlackRock and Ondo; it does not support physical silver ownership or direct redemption; includes certain ETF management fee costs; trading is restricted for US users; and it faces potential securities regulatory limitations.
Main trading platforms include centralized exchanges like Gate, Bitmart, Bitget, AscendEX, etc.
It is worth mentioning that SLV also supports contract trading, with leverage of up to 10x.
Coingecko website information shows that SLVON's 24-hour trading volume is approximately $21.2 million, ranking first in trading volume in the silver token market.
Besides the two major silver tokens KAG and SLVON, the silver token Silver rStock (SLVR) launched by the Solana ecosystem stock tokenization platform Remora Market, and the Gram Silver (GRAMS) token pegged to 1 gram of silver issued by Token Teknoloji A.Ş, also fall under the category of spot tokens. However, their market capitalization and liquidity are extremely low, and the price difference compared to the physical silver price is larger than that of KAG and SLVON. Trading is not recommended.
Silver Leveraged Trading Platforms: Hyperliquid, Binance, Bitget, and Others
Beyond spot silver tokens, currently many US stock tokenization platforms, on-chain Perp DEXs, CEXs, and DEXs have opened leveraged contract trading for silver, supporting leverage of up to 20-100x. The following are specific platforms for readers' reference:
Channel One — Hyperliquid: The Silver/USDC contract trading pair has a 24-hour trading volume exceeding $1 billion;
Channel Two — Binance, supports XAG/USDT leveraged trading pair, with leverage of up to 100x. Currently, the 24-hour trading volume is $1.32 billion. According to the official announcement, this trading pair was officially opened on January 7th (at that time, the official announcement indicated leverage of up to 50x); on the other hand, the latest news shows that Binance will change the price index composition of the gold token XAU/USDT contract on January 29, 2026.
Channel Three — Bitget, supports XAG/USDT leveraged trading pair, with leverage of up to 50x. Currently, the 24-hour trading volume is $174 million.
Conclusion: Trump's Hawkish Policies and Dovish Rate Preferences Will Be the Best Catalyst for Precious Metals
Looking back, Trump's rise to power, leading to tense international political and economic situations, tariff trade wars, and his preference for Federal Reserve rate cuts, are the best catalysts for the rise in precious metal prices. Specifically for silver, beyond past reasons like supply tightness and its role as a key raw material, risk-off asset flows and the US stance are crucial.
J. Safra Sarasin strategist Claudio Wewel pointed out that the continuous surge in silver prices stems from the market's reduced expectations for US rate cuts and silver's newly acquired status as a key mineral. The US Department of the Interior listed silver as a critical mineral in November, increasing the possibility of the US imposing tariffs on this metal. He noted that this exacerbates long-term supply tightness and prompts US importers to accelerate silver purchases. Meanwhile, retail investors, finding gold prices at historical highs difficult to buy into, are turning to silver as a safe-haven asset.
In other words, silver's main price increase comes from both "scarcity" and "safe-haven appeal." Combined with the recently re-escalated tensions in the Middle East, the peak for silver prices may be far from reached.
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