Over the past week, SLV experienced a 9.3% drop in its net asset value, marking its sharpest weekly decline since March 2020. This move coincided with the market’s reaction to President Trump’s announcement of Kevin Warsh as the anticipated next Fed chair, which rekindled bets on earlier-than-expected interest-rate hikes. Total estimated outflows from the ETF reached $1.2 billion last week, pushing assets under management down from $18.7 billion to $17.5 billion.

While SLV is traditionally viewed as a pure play on bullion, recent quarters have seen growing interest from industrial buyers. According to iShares data, approximately 22% of SLV’s holdings are tied to silver used in photovoltaic cells and high-capacity data-center servers for AI workloads. Net inflows from mining and manufacturing firms have totaled $420 million over the past three months, even as retail redemptions spiked by 15% in January.

SLV trades at a 0.50% expense ratio, and its average daily trading volume soared to 35 million shares in the past month—up 60% year over year. Analysts note the ETF’s 30-day historical volatility of 32% is more than double that of gold ETFs. While some strategists warn that SLV may be exhibiting meme-stock characteristics following its parabolic moves, others point to a 12-month forecast range between $18 and $28 per ounce-equivalent, driven by ongoing supply deficits and potential monetary loosening in mid-2021.