Yeliz Akmaca 
Silver prices have been on the rise and hit a new all-time high of just over $117 on Tuesday, though some analysts warn that a price top for the precious metal could be coming soon. According to market intelligence platform Santiment, social media discussions about silver and gold have outpaced crypto on most days this month, as retail investors latch onto recent rises in precious metal prices.
Gold discussion erupted in the second week of January as the metal hit new highs, dominating social traffic between Jan. 8 and Jan. 18, according to Sanbase data shared in an X post from Santiment.
The third week of January saw interest briefly return to crypto as traders attempted to “buy the dip on the way down,” with crypto topping social media discussions between Jan. 19 and Jan. 22.
However, interest in silver has spiked again as the precious metal hit new all-time highs. Silver was also the most talked-about asset between Jan. 1 and Jan. 6.
Santiment analysts noted, “Cryptocurrency traders are well known for jumping between different sectors within digital assets based on the latest hype cycles, e.g., memecoins vs AI vs blue chips. But now, retail is proving to be open to jumping sectors entirely, with social data showing how gold, silver, and even equities are getting more interest based on wherever the latest pumps appear.”
Silver interest could mean a top
Silver prices hit a new all-time high of $117 on Tuesday, according to TradingView. Santiment analysts said that the interest and resulting fear of missing out (FOMO) among retail traders generally signals a top. “Case in point: on Tuesday, silver surged above $117.70 but fell back below $102.70 just two hours later after retail hype peaked,” they said.
As of Wednesday, silver is trading around $113.
Google Trends shows crypto is ahead today
Google Trends shows that over the last seven days, searches for crypto peaked at 100 on Jan. 21, then fluctuated between a low of 61 on Saturday and a second high of 93 on Monday. Top related queries included “best crypto,” “what is crypto,” and “crypto price.” As of Wednesday, the score is 82.
During the same period, Bitcoin saw its highest search interest on Monday at 100 and its lowest on Sunday at 58. Top queries included “Bitcoin price” and “Bitcoin USD.” Its score on Wednesday is 86.
By comparison, silver recorded its highest search interest on Jan. 22 at 100 and its lowest on Sunday at 46. Top queries included “Silver price” and “Silver price today.” Its score on Wednesday is 68.
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