How Silver Cracked $100 And Added More Than Bitcoin's Entire Market Cap In 3 Months
How Silver Cracked $100 And Added More Than Bitcoin's Entire Market Cap In 3 Months
Parshwa Turakhiya Benzinga Sat, January 24, 2026
Silver crossed the psychological $100 per ounce Friday, driven by solar panel demand and a historic supply squeeze, while Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has crashed 30% from its $126,000 peak to $89,000.
The Numbers: Silver Added $2.83 Trillion
Silver closed October 31, 2025 at $48.68 per ounce. By Friday afternoon, it had crossed $100—a 104% surge in three months. The total above-ground silver supply is estimated at approximately 56 billion ounces, including bullion, coins, jewelry, and industrial products. At October’s price, silver’s total market value stood at roughly $2.73 trillion.
At today’s $99 price, that valuation has exploded to approximately $5.56 trillion—an increase of $2.83 trillion in three months. That’s 1.5 times Bitcoin’s entire $1.84 trillion market cap added to silver’s value in 90 days.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin tumbled from above $126,000 in October to roughly $89,000 today. The cryptocurrency’s market cap fell from over $2.4 trillion to $1.84 trillion, shedding more than $600 billion in value.
What’s Driving The Silver Rally
The silver rally is driven by an industrial necessity colliding with a supply crunch.
Solar panels now account for 29% of industrial silver demand, up from just 11% in 2014, according to the Silver Institute’s World Silver Survey 2025.
Each solar panel requires 15-25 grams of silver, and global solar capacity is forecast to hit 665 gigawatts in 2026.
Moreover, electric vehicles use 25-50 grams of silver versus 15-28 grams in conventional cars.
That demand isn’t going away—it’s accelerating as the green energy transition shifts from future trend to current reality.
The supply side is even tighter. The Silver Institute reports 2024 marked the fourth consecutive year of supply deficits:
Mine production: 819.7 million ounces
Total demand: 1.16 billion ounces
Industrial demand: 680.5 million ounces (record high)
The deficit is structural. Over 70% of silver is produced as a byproduct of mining lead, zinc, and copper—meaning production can’t simply ramp up when prices spike.
Research from Ghent University and Engie Laborelec projects that by 2030, global silver demand could hit 48,000-52,000 metric tons annually while supply reaches only 34,000 metric tons.
The solar industry alone could consume 29-41% of projected global supply by decade’s end.
What Happens Next
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