Silver rose today to $63 per ounce, achieving a new all-time high for the precious metal. In contrast, the cryptocurrency market fell by 2.74% in the past 24 hours, with all top 20 coins, except stablecoins, in the negative.
This large difference in performance shows that capital is being distributed differently. Such movements are often seen as a classic risk-off signal, but some analysts believe it may actually mean the opposite.
Why is the silver price rising?
Silver continued its upward trend today and reached another milestone with a new record during the early Asian trading hours. According to data from Companies Market Cap, silver is now ranked sixth among all global assets, with a market capitalization of $3.5 trillion.
Recent reports from The Kobeissi Letter indicate that the precious metal is now on track for its strongest 12-month result since 1979.
“The current silver bull run makes 2020 and 2008 look like a rounding error. A new era of monetary policy is coming,” stated in the post.
Now that the rally is accelerating, people are once again searching for safe havens. But why is demand for silver rising? According to trader Michael, the increase is not only due to demand but also due to 'desperation'.
He emphasized that physically backed silver ETFs recorded more than 15.3 million ounces in just four days. That was the second largest weekly inflow of 2025.
Moreover, Michael pointed out that this figure is nearly as high as the 15.7 million ounces that were added throughout November.
“Silver ETFs are now on track for their tenth consecutive month of inflows. This has only occurred before during periods of systemic stress,” he added.
The world's largest silver ETF, SLV, reportedly saw nearly $1 billion in inflows within a week, more than major gold funds. According to Michael, the causes of the rapid rise in silver are much broader than just retail interest or fear of inflation. Michael says:
“The global monetary system is quietly, rapidly, and from within losing trust. Silver is the only asset standing between two crises: 1. A run on hard assets now that government debts exceed their limits. 2. A persistent industrial shortage due to AI, solar energy, electric vehicles, and demand for semiconductors.”
The trader emphasized that when financial uncertainty coincides with physical scarcity, the silver price does not just rise but truly 'breaks free', which he believes indicates a deeper problem and not just a normal market rally.
Silver vs Bitcoin: the performance gap is widening in 2025
Meanwhile, the crypto market is performing much worse than the rising silver price. Data from BeInCrypto Markets shows that the largest cryptocurrency fell by more than 2% in the last 24 hours, continuing a broader downward trend.
Analyst Maartun indicates that silver will be the absolute standout in 2025, even better than gold. Bitcoin is lagging behind these precious metals and major stock indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
“Over the past four years, Bitcoin has struggled against silver. Bitcoin has lost more than half of its value when measured in silver,” noted economist Peter Schiff.
This indicates that the risk-off sentiment is increasing. As uncertainty grows, investors often shift to traditional safe havens. Silver and gold have fulfilled this role for centuries.
However, some analysts do not see the silver rally as a flight to safety, but rather as a sign that investors are willing to take risks again. Crypto analyst Ran Neuner offers this opposing view and says that the market is now favorable for risk-on assets. This challenges the traditional view of the rise of precious metals.
“The market is now FULLY in risk-on mode and most people don’t see it because Bitcoin isn’t moving! Silver is at all-time highs. It has broken out and continues to rise rapidly. Silver is the Beta gold and signals Risk-On!” he stated.
Neuner also pointed out that the ETH/BTC ratio is above the 50-week simple moving average, indicating renewed interest in crypto. He also mentioned the breakout of the Russell 2000 and the most recent pivot of the Federal Reserve as additional evidence for a broadly risk-tolerant market.
“Soon, sellers in BTC will dry up and the big catch-up race begins. All data points in the same direction!”, claimed Neuner.
Other analysts also expect that there will be renewed demand for Bitcoin. Whether this expectation comes true depends on how the market develops further and whether crypto buyers will return strongly soon.
