Silver Briefly Surpasses Nvidia To Become World’s Second-Largest Asset Again

Silver's meteoric rally continued this week, propelling the white metal past Nvidia, albeit briefly, to claim the spot as the world's second-largest asset by market capitalisation, behind only gold. Prices eased to $79 an ounce, but silver's market value still crossed $4.48 trillion, underscoring the scale of its surge.

For perspective, here's the hierarchy at the time of over-taking by market value:

• Gold: $31.3 trillion

• Silver: $4.57 trillion

• Nvidia: $4.559 trillion

• Apple: $3.89 trillion

• Alphabet: $3.79 trillion

Silver's ascent is remarkable not just because it overtook Nvidia — the poster child of the AI boom — but because it has outperformed nearly every major asset class in 2025.

Why Silver Is Soaring

Silver is indispensable for electric vehicles, solar panels, electronics, and AI data centers. With governments accelerating energy transitions and data infrastructure expanding rapidly, demand remains robust and largely unavoidable.

The market is now in its fifth consecutive year of supply deficits. Mining output has lagged consumption, and above-ground inventories are near historic lows. Lower interest rates have further boosted appeal for non-yielding assets, with three U.S. Fed rate cuts fueling bets on more easing in 2026. A weaker dollar and geopolitical flashpoints — including U.S. actions in Venezuela and Nigeria — have added to haven demand.

Meanwhile, a U.S. Commerce Department probe into critical mineral imports has raised the prospect of tariffs or trade curbs on silver, injecting fresh uncertainty into already strained supply chains.

Fragile Market Structure

Unlike gold, which enjoys deep liquidity and lending pools estimated at $700 billion in London, silver lacks comparable buffers. That fragility was exposed during October's historic supply squeeze. While London vaults have since seen inflows, shortages persist elsewhere.

In China, inventories tied to the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell last month to their lowest levels since 2015. Much of the world's readily available silver now sits in New York, as traders await clarity on U.S. trade policy — creating a global game of musical chairs with too little metal and too many buyers.