"The Gold of the Poor" makes a big comeback: a review of noteworthy tokenized silver assets

Author: Wenser, Odaily Planet Daily

Silver, once dubbed “the poor man’s gold,” is sweeping across global markets with a storm-like momentum. The reason is simple: its terrifying surge.

Recently, silver prices briefly broke through $117 per ounce, hitting a record high. Since then, since the 2017 crypto cycle peak, silver has achieved a cumulative increase of approximately 517%, officially surpassing Bitcoin’s roughly 500% and gold’s slightly below 300%. Additionally, according to data from 8marketcap, silver is currently trading around $110, with a market cap of $6.18 trillion, ranking second among global assets, just behind gold. Such an astonishing trend naturally attracts market enthusiasm. Besides traditional brokers or offline stores buying silver funds or physical silver, tokenized silver may also be an option, especially through trading platforms and on-chain Perp DEX leveraged contracts.

Current Status of Silver Tokens: Only 2 with Relatively Good Liquidity

According to Coingecko, the overall market cap of tokenized silver is about $446 million, with a 24-hour increase of approximately 5.6%. Specifically, the two silver tokens with relatively good liquidity are:

Kinesis Silver (KAG): Market cap approximately $406 million

Like the gold token KAU, KAG silver token is issued by Kinesis, a registered digital asset platform in the Cayman Islands. Major trading platforms include Kinesis Money, BitMart, and the UAE-based Emirex.

KAG is backed by fully insured and periodically audited vaults (globally distributed storage), with each token pegged to 1 ounce of investment-grade silver; it supports real-time global 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, as the token heavily depends on the issuer’s asset credibility and faces certain regulatory uncertainties. Additionally, due to its smaller market cap and market depth, market volatility may lead to premiums or discounts, making it somewhat reliant on exchange platform order matching.

Nevertheless, according to Coingecko, KAG’s 24-hour trading volume is about $5.5 million, making it the second most traded silver token.

iShares Silver Trust (SLV): Market cap approximately $39.5 million

Issued by Ondo Finance, the iShares Silver Trust-backed silver token holds physical silver via the BlackRock iShares Silver Trust (SLV) ETF.

Its advantages include tracking a regulated traditional SLV ETF, good liquidity, and supporting instant minting or redemption (for non-US users); combining traditional finance with blockchain convenience; institutional backing; and no need to handle physical silver directly.

Its potential risks include reliance on the credibility of issuers like BlackRock and Ondo, inability to support ownership or direct redemption of physical silver; inclusion of ETF management fees; trading restrictions for US users; and potential securities regulation limitations.

Main trading platforms include centralized exchanges such as Gate, Bitmart, Bitget, and AscendEX.

Notably, SLV also supports futures trading, with leverage up to 10x.

Coingecko reports that SLVON’s 24-hour trading volume is about $21.2 million, ranking first in the silver token market.

Apart from KAG and SLVON, other spot tokens like Silver rStock (SLVR) from Solana ecosystem tokenization platform Remora Market, and Gram Silver (GRAMS), a token pegged to 1 gram of silver issued by Token Teknoloji A.Ş, have very low market caps and liquidity, with larger price gaps compared to KAG, SLVON, and physical silver. Participation in trading is not recommended.

Silver Leverage Trading Platforms: Hyperliquid, Binance, Bitget, and Others

Besides spot silver tokens, many US stock tokenization platforms, on-chain Perp DEX, CEX, and DEX platforms now offer leveraged contracts for silver, with leverage up to 20-100x. The following are specific platforms for reference:

Channel One — Hyperliquid: Silver/USDC contract trading pair with 24-hour volume surpassing $1 billion;

Channel Two — Binance: Supports XAG/USDT leverage trading, with up to 100x leverage. Currently, the 24-hour volume is $1.32 billion. According to official announcements, this trading was officially launched on January 7 (initially supporting up to 50x leverage). Recent news indicates Binance will change the price index component of the gold token XAU/USDT contract on January 29, 2026;

Channel Three — Bitget: Supports XAG/USDT leverage trading, with up to 50x leverage. The 24-hour volume is about $174 million;

Conclusion: Trump’s Hawkish Policies and Rate Cut Preferences Will Be the Best Catalysts for Precious Metals

Looking back, the geopolitical tensions following Trump’s rise, trade tariffs, and his preference for Fed rate cuts have been the best catalysts for rising precious metal prices. For silver, aside from past supply tightness and key raw material factors, the shift of risk assets and the US stance are crucial.

J. Safra Sarasin strategist Claudio Wewel pointed out that the continuous surge in silver prices stems from market expectations of weakening US rate cuts and silver’s new critical mineral status. In November, the US Department of the Interior listed silver as a critical mineral, increasing the likelihood of tariffs on this metal. He noted that this exacerbates long-term supply tensions and prompts US importers to accelerate silver procurement. Meanwhile, retail investors, unable to buy gold at historic highs, are turning to silver as a safe-haven asset.

In other words, the main drivers of silver’s rally are both “scarcity” and “hedging,” and with recent tensions in the Middle East escalating again, the end point for silver prices may still be far away.