Silver rose to $82.70 per ounce during early Asian trading hours. The price approached its latest record high. The precious metal temporarily surpassed NVIDIA and became the world's second-largest asset by market capitalization.
The rapid rise has drawn significant attention in financial markets. Analysts are now comparing silver to Bitcoin, and some believe the cryptocurrency could soon experience a major boost as well.
Rally in precious metals lifts silver above tech giant
After a slight correction from its previous peak, silver has risen again and surpassed $80 per ounce, reaching up to $82.70 today. The latest increase caused silver's market capitalization to exceed NVIDIA's $45.5 billion.
As of writing, silver was trading at 80.8 USD, nearly 12% higher since the start of the year. This rise is stronger than gold, which has only increased by about 3.2% so far in 2026.
"This is probably silver's best start to a year ever," wrote economist Peter Schiff.
Silver's strong performance is nothing new. Already in 2025, the metal outperformed gold, rising approximately 176% over the year, while gold increased by 70.3%.
Market analysts say silver is strong due to its dual role. Investors buy it as a currency reserve or safe haven, just like gold.
But silver also plays a key role in industry, especially in electronics, solar panels, AI equipment, and electric vehicles. BeInCrypto recently highlighted that industrial demand accounts for about half of all global silver consumption.
"Silver is much more interesting today, with the combination of investors buying for monetary reasons plus industrial demand for electronics, solar energy, AI, electric vehicles, and more," says Wall Street Mav.
The analyst argues that a sustained imbalance between supply and demand is driving silver's rally. The Silver Institute reported that the global silver market recorded its fifth consecutive annual deficit in 2025. Annual demand stands at around 1.2 billion ounces, but mining and recycling provide only about 1 billion ounces.
This structural shortage helps drive prices upward. Many now believe silver could reach a three-digit price during 2026.
"100 USD per ounce for silver is now possible already in January," says analyst Sunil Reddy.
But when demand consistently exceeds supply, prices tend to rise until consumption declines. This is known as demand exhaustion. For silver, this means higher prices could eventually make certain industrial uses unprofitable.
"So silver prices must rise until consumption drops. No one seems to know where that level is. I've seen estimates where the solar industry loses money at 135 USD per ounce of silver when manufacturing solar panels. We'll have to see what happens," adds Wall Street Mav.
Bitcoin analysts see similarities with silver
Silver's record rally has prompted many cryptocurrency analysts to examine Bitcoin's chart. Merlijn The Trader observed that silver completed a long cup-and-handle formation before its rise.
He notes that Bitcoin is now building the same formation on the weekly chart. Thus, when the pattern is complete, Bitcoin could surge upward just as silver did.
"BITCOIN is quietly building a cup-and-handle pattern on the weekly chart. Long base. Slow accumulation. Maximum boredom. Silver did this for years... then exploded. When this structure resolves... it rarely happens gently," commented the analyst.
Analyst Crypto Rover adds that gold and silver rose sharply after leaving their accumulation zones. Bitcoin has not yet confirmed such a breakout, but when it does, it could trigger a strong upward move.
Many market participants are now watching to see if a capital rotation from precious metals to Bitcoin is underway. When and if it happens remains to be seen.
