For retail traders, silver is still the new gold — and it’s sending trading volumes for one ETF booming

Silver is holding on to its gold medal — at least from retail traders. Per data from SwaggyStocks, the iShares Silver Trust has been the top trending ticker in the r/WallStreetBets subreddit over each of the past 12 hours, 1 day, and 1 week — with mentions over the past week roughly triple that of the SPDR Gold Shares ETF .

Since really becoming popular with retail traders last October, gold and silver have only gained in status, with both seeming to make gains in both risk-off and risk-on environments.

Just this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comment on the Department of Justice subpoenas gave both of the precious metals a chance to prove their mettle as a store of value, but silver’s volatility and relentlessly positive price action — prices have nearly tripled in the last year — are seeing it win over more volatility-seeking fans on Reddit. That increased retail attention is translating into serious trading activity, with volumes for the SLV ETF hitting an average turnover of $9.6 billion over the last five trading sessions, 61% more than what changed hands in GLD.

With super-high electrical conductivity, silver is widely used in electronics — making it more vulnerable to supply shocks. Indeed, the silver market is currently experiencing thin inventories in London (where benchmark silver prices are set) just as new export restrictions from China, a leading silver producer, started on January 1.