Silver gets the gold

After a year of nonstop hype around AI, crypto, and prediction markets, it turns out one of the best investments of 2025 has been one of the most old-fashioned: silver.

Precious metals on the whole are having a stellar year: Gold has surged 62%, platinum has jumped 91%, and the true start of the show, silver, has risen 110% in 2025 so far.

Today, spot silver hit another milestone as it climbed 4.85% and surpassed $60 per ounce for the first time ever.

Expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates tomorrow have partly driven silver’s recent surge. When rates are lower, it makes non-yielding assets that don’t pay interest more appealing for investors.

There’s another macro driver pushing silver higher: debt. Investors fear that major Western currencies like the dollar are going to be devalued, and they’ve turned to precious metals. Silver is even more sensitive to weakening of the US dollar than its commodity cousins because it has a smaller market size, according to the Wall Street Journal. And like gold, silver is a kind of safe haven asset, which is why investors put their money in the precious metal when things get ugly.

But unlike gold, silver is also used in a slew of technologies like solar panels, electric vehicles, and advanced electronics, which creates long-term demand that should continue pushing the price up. On top of that, silver was added to the US critical minerals list earlier this month, marking it as vital for national security, making it more likely the government stockpiles the commodity in bulk.

Should you go all-in on precious metals?

Silver prices are projected to rise as industrial demand skyrockets through 2030, the Silver Institute wrote in a report on Tuesday.

“Silver is poised to play a pivotal ‘next generation metal’ role across industries critical to the green energy transition and digital transformation over the coming decade,” the researchers wrote.

So, should you trade in your Costco gold bars for silver? If you’d prefer not to keep bulky metal bars hidden under your bed, investing in a spot silver ETF (the largest is the iShares Silver Trust) is the easiest way to add some of silver’s shine in your portfolio.—LB