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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRetail attention, including from crypto traders, spiked just as silver hit its local top, Santiment data shows.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Silver prices completed one of the most dramatic single-day reversals in years on Monday, surging to a record high above $117 before plummeting more than 15% in a matter of hours.<\/p>\n
The violent swing erased approximately $900 billion in market value in just 90 minutes, according to data cited by financial commentary account The Kobeissi Letter.<\/p>\n
The event illustrates how retail trader attention, including from the crypto community, has pivoted toward traditional assets like precious metals, often at the most volatile moments.<\/p>\n
Data shared by Santiment earlier today shows<\/a> how trader attention has shifted week by week in January, moving from crypto to gold and then to silver as prices ran higher. In a post on X, the analytics firm said silver\u2019s break to new highs coincided with a burst of retail discussion, a pattern it says often lines up with short-term tops.<\/p>\n That timing matched the market. Silver climbed to nearly $118 before sliding to around $103 in less than two hours, a move that erased most of the day\u2019s gains before a partial rebound toward $110.<\/p>\n The Kobeissi Letter described<\/a> the scale of the swings as extreme, saying silver\u2019s market cap swung by almost $2 trillion in roughly 14 hours, including a $900 billion drop in just 90 minutes. Meanwhile, trader Mark Chadwick compared that figure to about 72% of the entire altcoin market cap, arguing that such speed shows how quickly speculative money can move.<\/p>\n First-hand accounts also pointed to retail heat, with analyst Checkmate saying<\/a> they sold physical silver after seeing parabolic charts and fielding repeated questions on how to buy. The market watcher described long lines of excited buyers at a dealer and noted the experience was slower and less flexible than selling BTC, even as spreads remained wide.<\/p>\n The rush into silver unfolded at a time when BTC was trading around $88,000, up about 0.6% over 24 hours but down roughly 3.6% during the week and 12% over the past year. The OG cryptocurrency has held a tight range between $87,000 and $89,000 as broader crypto markets remain cautious.<\/p>\n Some analysts, like CryptoQuant contributor GugaOnChain, have framed<\/a> this split as part of a wider risk-off mood. According to them, a weak dollar does not always support Bitcoin, especially when investors focus on capital preservation rather than returns. In that setting, money has flowed into long-established stores of value like gold and silver instead of crypto.<\/p>\n Opinions have differed on social media regarding what that means for Bitcoin. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju wrote<\/a> that gold, silver, and BTC all function as risk-off assets, adding that if markets still treat Bitcoin as risk-on, then it may be undervalued. Others, like author Vijay Boyapati, said<\/a> rising gold prices are expanding Bitcoin\u2019s long-term addressable market rather than threatening it.<\/p>\n For now, though, the silver episode shows how quickly crowd attention can flip, and how volatile those trades can become once retail piles in.<\/p>\nYou may also like:<\/h3>\n
What the Move Says About Bitcoin and Risk Sentiment<\/h2>\n
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