Silver ranks as the best performing asset in 2025, with the author of "Currency Wars" predicting it could reach $200

The silver market in 2025 experienced epic and dramatic volatility. Driven by multiple shocks from the Trump administration’s economic policies, geopolitical turmoil, and supply chain tightening, silver surged from a supporting role to become the top-performing asset of the year, even reaching a historic high of over $80 per ounce at the end of December, nearly tripling its value from the previous year. However, as market sentiment overheated and liquidity shifted, silver prices recently saw a significant pullback. Looking ahead to 2026, industrial demand and the trend toward monetary decentralization will continue to support silver. Jim Rickards, author of “Currency Wars,” even predicted in a recent interview that silver prices will reach $200 in 2026.

Since the beginning of 2025, silver has gained as much as 150%, making it the best-performing asset of 2025.

2025 has been a highly dramatic year for silver, with gains of up to 150% since the start of the year, surpassing gold to become the best-performing asset of 2025.

On December 29, 2025, silver prices hit a historic high of $84.01, nearly tripling its value compared to a year earlier. Although the performance was strong throughout the year, it faced profit-taking pressure at the end of the year, with a single-day plunge of 11%, the largest one-day drop since 2020, indicating extreme market volatility.

Why has silver surged far more than gold?

Although gold also rose over 70% in 2025 and hit a historic high, silver’s gains “make gold look pale in comparison.” The main reasons why silver outperformed gold include the following key factors:

Hedging + Industrial Dual Attributes

Like gold, silver is regarded by investors as a safe-haven asset against political turmoil, inflation, and currency weakness. But unlike gold, silver is indispensable in industrial applications (such as solar panels, electric vehicles, circuit boards), which means it enjoys strong industrial demand beyond its safe-haven appeal.

Valuation Gap and Rebound Effect

In early 2025, the gold-silver ratio widened, with one ounce of gold able to buy over 100 ounces of silver. Seeing this huge disparity, investors believed silver was undervalued and flooded the market to arbitrage.

Silver Supply Shortage

Global silver demand has exceeded mine output for five consecutive years. Major producing countries (Mexico, Peru, China) face regulatory and environmental restrictions, limiting production. Additionally, demand from the solar industry remains rigid even after a threefold price increase, exacerbating supply tightness.

Smaller Scale Facilitates Rise

The silver market is smaller than the gold market. The value of silver in London inventories is about $65 billion, while gold is as high as $1.3 trillion. The smaller market size means that when capital flows in, silver prices tend to be more volatile and rise more dramatically than gold. To curb excessive speculation, institutions like the CME Group have increased margin requirements for silver futures contracts. This may force some speculators to close positions, potentially putting short-term downward pressure on prices. Additionally, lower liquidity at year-end also contributes to increased volatility.

“Currency Wars” Author Predicts $200

The sharp decline at the end of 2025 indicates that the market may have experienced “rapid and excessive” gains. Technical indicators (such as RSI) show the market is overbought, increasing the risk of a price correction. However, looking into 2026, ongoing supply chain pressures and rigid demand could further drive silver’s momentum.

Jim Rickards, author of “Currency Wars,” believes that recent price increases are related to physical silver delivery in the market. In the paper silver market, where investors buy and sell silver certificates in accounts (() and physical silver (with a 100:1 market ratio), physical delivery demand is pushing prices higher. He also predicts that gold will surge to $10,000 in 2026, with silver following to reach $200.

Famous Wall Street economist Peter Schiff recently stated that the biggest risk in 2026 is a collapse in investor confidence in U.S. fiscal and monetary credibility. He considers a silver price of $100 per ounce in 2026 “a very realistic target,” and if monetary instability worsens, silver prices could go even higher. He also mentioned that the current pullback presents a very good buying opportunity.

How can investors participate in the silver market?

Currently, silver investment channels have become more diverse. Besides traditional physical silver coins and bars, investors can also gain exposure through futures or ETFs (such as SLV, PSLV). Notably, in 2025, the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) surged significantly. Tokenized silver holdings on blockchain platforms (such as a tokenized version of SLV) offer 24/7 trading convenience and high liquidity, making them an emerging way to participate.

This article, “Silver Tops 2025 Best Asset Performance,” and “Currency Wars” author’s prediction of $200 first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.