Silver Could Overtake BTC as 2025’s Best-Performing Year-to-Date Asset

• Silver vs Bitcoin YTD: Silver +63.9% vs BTC +64.1% (year-to-date).

• Tokenized silver remains niche with a $203M market cap concentrated in Kinesis Silver.

• Gold also advanced strongly: +58.2% YTD; spot demand has created logistical backlogs.

Is silver outperforming Bitcoin in 2025? Silver (+63.9% YTD) vies with BTC (+64.1% YTD) for top asset performance — read COINOTAG’s analysis and outlook.

Is silver outperforming Bitcoin in 2025?

Is silver outperforming Bitcoin in 2025? In year-to-date terms silver has gained 63.9% while Bitcoin has gained 64.1%, leaving both assets in an extremely close race for 2025’s top performer. Market dynamics, spot demand for metals, and crypto volatility will determine which maintains the lead.

How significant is tokenized silver in the crypto market?

Tokenized silver is still a niche within crypto. Total market capitalization for silver-backed tokens sits at roughly $203 million, dominated by the Kinesis Silver token. Trading activity for these tokens is limited and largely confined to Kinesis platforms, meaning tokenized silver has not yet joined the broader RWA (real-world asset) tokenization trend on major exchanges.

Published: 2025-10-16 | Updated: 2025-10-16 | Author: COINOTAG

BTC and silver are trading in a tight duel for 2025’s best-performing asset. Silver’s rapid advance has pushed the metal to a net gain of 63.9% year-to-date, nearly matching Bitcoin’s reported 64.1% return. Price action over the year shows precious metals beating expectations while BTC’s volatility narrows the gap between the two.

Silver’s surge reflects renewed spot demand and portfolio diversification away from fiat currency risk. In earlier 2025, BTC traded at the equivalent of 3,404 silver ounces — an all-time peak in the coins-per-ounce metric — but subsequently declined to around 2,101 silver ounces. That remains well above the 2023 bear low of 692 ounces, underscoring Bitcoin’s long-term price discovery pattern.

Silver broke out in 2025, on track to get ahead of BTC as the biggest earner for the year to date. | Source: Trading Economics

Over longer horizons Bitcoin still outperforms many traditional assets as a first-of-its-kind digital store of value, but the 2024–2025 market cycle has favored precious metals in several intervals. Gold has been the year-to-date leader over multi-year frames, rising roughly 58.2% so far in 2025, while silver’s more explosive short-term gains have closed the gap on Bitcoin.

Tokenization and market structure

Despite silver’s price performance, tokenized silver remains peripheral. The silver token market cap of roughly $203M is small relative to major crypto assets. Most tokenized silver value is concentrated in the Kinesis Silver token, which is primarily traded on Kinesis’ own platform. As a result, tokenized silver has limited liquidity and few connections to major exchanges or decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems.

Market participants and custodians cited in industry reports such as Trading Economics and exchange statements note that spot demand for physical metals has generated fulfillment backlogs and logistical constraints, which in turn support spot prices. For crypto investors, the intrinsic volatility of Bitcoin — including intra-day moves that can exceed 10% — makes BTC a higher-risk vehicle for a debasement or safe-haven trade compared with precious metals.

Expert perspective: A Coinotag market analyst commented, “Silver’s rapid YTD rally highlights both renewed industrial and investment demand. Bitcoin remains highly volatile; whether it reclaims a sustainable lead depends on macro liquidity and investor risk appetite in the coming months.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Will silver finish 2025 ahead of Bitcoin?

It is too early to declare a definitive winner. Year-to-date returns show silver at +63.9% and Bitcoin at +64.1%, a statistically negligible difference. The final outcome will depend on macroeconomic trends, spot metal delivery constraints, and crypto volatility in the remaining months of 2025.

Why are investors buying silver instead of Bitcoin right now?

Investors are seeking assets that hedge against currency debasement and capitalize on physical demand. Silver’s recent price jump is driven by spot purchases and industrial demand; meanwhile Bitcoin’s large price swings prompt some investors to rotate into metals for lower short-term volatility.

Key Takeaways

• Near-tie in performance: Silver (+63.9% YTD) and Bitcoin (+64.1% YTD) are essentially neck-and-neck for 2025’s best-performing asset.
• Tokenization remains limited: Tokenized silver market cap is about $203M, dominated by Kinesis Silver and trading mainly on the Kinesis platform.
• Macro and logistics matter: Spot metal demand is creating backlogs, supporting metals’ prices; Bitcoin’s volatility remains a key differentiator.

Conclusion

Silver has mounted a strong challenge to Bitcoin’s 2025 performance, narrowing the gap to become one of the year’s top performers alongside gold. While tokenized silver remains niche with a market cap near $203M, the surge in physical demand and spot market pressures underpin the metals rally. Investors should monitor macro indicators, spot delivery dynamics, and crypto volatility to assess whether silver will maintain its lead or if Bitcoin will reclaim it in the coming months. For continued coverage and data-driven updates, follow COINOTAG’s market reports.