What's going on?

Reddit-inspired retail investors were back at it on Monday, this time pushing silver�s price to an eight-year high.

What does this mean?

Investors piled almost $1 billion into the biggest exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the price of silver last Friday (tweet this). That surge in demand made it one of retail investors� most-traded assets that day, and gave the commodity�s price its biggest one-day gain in thirteen years.


The timing is significant: silver’s been a hot topic on Reddit�s r/WallStreetBets � the forum where GameStop and AMC�s stocks caught fire � as retail investors try to carry out a similar �short squeeze�. The aforementioned ETF is, after all, backed by physical silver, meaning the fund provider is forced to buy the metal when it receives new investments. And if there isn�t enough to go around, its price could be �squeezed� higher and higher and higher�

Why should I care?

Zooming in: This isn�t just GameStop 2.0.

This situation is similar to last week�s GameStop saga, but it�s different in a couple of key ways. Firstly, GameStop�s market value is much smaller � $1.4 billion to silver�s $32 billion � and as such easier for retail investors to influence. And secondly, institutional investors don�t seem to be betting against the metal like they were against GameStop. In fact, they�ve been optimistic about its chances: data shows they have, in aggregate, invested in the metal, and Goldman Sachs recommended buying the asset last year.

The bigger picture: The tail might finally be wagging the dog.

Still, the fact silver�s price moved higher in such a significant way � especially considering how much more the market is worth than GameStop � shows the momentum retail investors are now having. It might only be a matter of time before institutional investors start following their lead in an effort to profit from the waves their smaller counterparts are making � if they�re not already.