Silver experienced one of its most dramatic single-day swings in years on Monday, climbing above $117 before crashing more than 15% in hours, wiping out roughly $900 billion in market value in 90 minutes, according to The Kobeissi Letter.
Santiment data shows retail attention, including crypto traders, shifted from gold to silver as prices surged, often coinciding with short-term tops. Silver briefly touched $118 before falling to around $103, then partially rebounding toward $110.
The volatility highlighted the speed of speculative flows, with the $900 billion drop representing about 72% of the entire altcoin market cap. Analyst Checkmate noted heavy retail activity, with buyers lining up for physical silver, though the process was slower and less flexible than trading BTC.
The move came while Bitcoin traded near $88,000, remaining range-bound between $87,000 and $89,000. Analysts interpret the silver rally as part of a broader risk-off mood, with investors favoring established stores of value like silver and gold over crypto.
The episode illustrates how quickly retail sentiment can swing and how volatile these inflows can be, even for traditional assets.
