Silver just had its main-character moment. And then it tripped on the red carpet.
After surging to a record high near $84 per troy ounce late Sunday, silver prices reversed hard, falling nearly 10% from Friday’s close. The move marks a sudden turn after one of the most aggressive commodity rallies of the year, driven in large part by retail momentum.
WallStreetBets piled in fast
Silver has become the most talked-about asset on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets over the past 12 hours. Mentions of the iShares Silver Trust $SLV ( ▼ 7.19% ) more than quadrupled combined references to the SPDR Gold Shares ETF $GLD ( ▼ 4.35% ) , Nvidia $NVDA ( ▼ 1.43% ) , and Tesla $TSLA ( ▼ 3.27% ) as retail traders chased the breakout.
Even after today’s drop, silver remains roughly 30% above its 50-day moving average and is still up more than 100% year to date. That kind of positioning helps explain why the reversal has been so violent. When trades get crowded this quickly, exits tend to be narrow.
Flows back that up. Retail inflows into commodity ETFs topped $223 million on December 26, putting the session in the 99.6th percentile versus its one-year average. Momentum in metals has been one of retail’s biggest wins in 2025.
Margins rise, momentum fades
The reversal is not happening in a vacuum. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange raised margin requirements on silver futures, effective today, a move that often forces weaker hands to unwind positions. Commodities more broadly are also under pressure as traders price in hopes of progress on Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
Those factors have taken some of the air out of a trade that had started to look parabolic.
Fundamentals still whisper, even if price is shouting
Despite the sharp pullback, some underlying signals remain constructive. Physical silver premiums are elevated, with American Silver Eagle coins selling at more than $10 over spot and bars priced close to $9 above spot levels. Futures curves in Shanghai and London are in backwardation, suggesting buyers are willing to pay up for immediate delivery.
China has also announced it will roll over silver export restrictions into the new year, reinforcing near-term supply concerns. Industrial demand tied to solar and energy infrastructure remains a long-term pillar of the bull case.
Still, the combination of a vertical run, intense retail attention, and a swift reversal has some traders calling a short-term top. Even strong stories need time to cool when price moves this fast.
Silver may not be done this cycle. But for now, the market is reminding everyone that parabolic moves rarely end quietly.