For decades, silver has played second fiddle to gold—volatile, underpriced, and largely ignored. But in 2025’s monetary landscape, that could change fast. According to monetary historian and analyst Mike Maloney, silver isn’t just undervalued—it’s fundamentally mispriced.
Why Silver Matters Now
Silver isn’t just an industrial metal. It’s monetary metal, and it has centuries of history backing its role as real money. But unlike gold, silver’s price has been suppressed for decades—partly due to manipulated inflation data (hello, CPI) and partly due to its dual industrial use.
Maloney argues that if silver were priced according to its historical purchasing power, we’d be looking at something closer to US$200 per ounce, not the US$20–30 range we’ve seen in recent years. That’s not a moonshot—it’s a reversion to mean, especially in an era where fiat currencies are being printed into oblivion.
Global Conditions Are Ripe for a Silver Spike
Fiat supply explosion: Global money supply has increased 55x since the 1980s, while gold production has only doubled. Silver’s supply story is even tighter.
Participation has ballooned: In 1980, only a small segment of the global population could access bullion. Today, billions can—with mobile apps, decentralised markets, and digital delivery.
Central bank gold buying is at century-high levels, quietly signalling a global retreat from USD dominance. Silver tends to follow gold’s lead—and it does so with greater volatility and upside.
- Silver demand also hit a record high in 2023, driven by solar, EV, and industrial use—outpacing supply for the third year running.
Negative Real Rates = Perfect Storm
When inflation-adjusted interest rates go negative (as they are again now), the case for holding bullion strengthens. There’s no income to lose by holding gold or silver—and plenty of upside to gain.
Silver’s high volatility often scares off conservative investors. But for those looking for asymmetric opportunities—where a small investment can yield outsized gains—that’s the point. Gold is the anchor. Silver is the accelerator.
Where To From Here?
The next real milestone for silver isn’t its old nominal high of US$50—it’s the inflation-adjusted range of US$200 (around AU$300).
The trigger could be a central bank shock, a loss of confidence in fiat currencies, or a major liquidity event.
The window could be short. Once the move begins, it may be fast, messy, and irreversible.
What This Means for SMSFs
For our Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) clients holding silver, it could be their most undervalued asset class. It plays a defensive role in preserving purchasing power, but with much higher upside potential than traditional defensive assets.
Interested in finding out more about how to hold silver in your SMSF? Start with our unique, new book Gold (and Silver) in your SMSF: Ownership Must Knows.
