Recently, the topic of silver has been very hot. I’ve noticed that many people are asking, “Does Taiwan have a silver passbook/savings account?”—something as convenient as a gold passbook. To be honest, Taiwan’s banking system currently doesn’t have such a product at all, including Taiwan Bank itself, which has publicly clarified this. However, that doesn’t mean there’s no other way to participate in silver buying and selling—in fact, the options are so plentiful that it can be a bit dizzying.

Let’s first talk about why silver has become so popular lately. Compared with gold, silver has several clear advantages. First, silver has a much wider range of uses. It’s not only used as a hedge asset—it’s also widely applied in solar panels, electric vehicles, semiconductors, 5G, and AI data centers. In 2025, with the explosion of green energy and AI, silver consumption is expected to grow by over 20% year-on-year. This makes silver a metal with both precious-metal attributes and the characteristics of a growth-oriented industrial metal. Second, silver is relatively inexpensive, roughly 1/30 to 1/120 of the gold price, which makes it easier for smaller investors to get started. Most importantly, silver’s price volatility is greater than gold’s. When the market is bullish, you often see a “catch-up” effect, and the profit percentage is often 1.5 to 2 times that of gold. Of course, the risk is also higher, so it’s suitable for people who can tolerate short-term fluctuations.

So how do you actually trade silver? I’ve organized a few main methods.

The most traditional approach is to buy physical silver bars or commemorative coins directly. The advantage is that there is absolutely no counterparty risk—once you hold the physical items, you don’t have to worry about financial institutions collapsing. But the downside is also obvious. The bid-ask spread for buying and selling can often reach 5% to 20%, making short-term entry and exit expensive. On top of that, you need to consider safekeeping security and safe deposit box fees, and the speed at which you can convert it back into cash isn’t fast. This method is suitable for people who want to preserve value long term and don’t mind the hassle.

If you already have a brokerage account, a silver ETF is a good choice. For example, iShares silver ETF (SLV) in the U.S. stock market has an annual expense ratio of only 0.5%. Trading is convenient and liquidity is high—you can buy and sell anytime during exchange trading hours. The downside is that you can’t redeem it for physical silver, and the market price may deviate slightly from the net asset value. But for those who want to participate in silver price fluctuations and prefer a medium- to long-term allocation, this is a very good tool.

If you want a more flexible way to trade, silver CFD is another option. The biggest feature of this kind of product is that it allows two-way trading: if you expect prices to rise, you can go long; if you expect prices to fall, you can go short. Leverage is also flexible—you can decide how many times to use it, and the minimum trade size can be quite small. The main cost is the bid-ask spread, usually around $0.03 to $0.05. Also, CFDs can be traded for almost 24 hours. In particular, from 8:00 PM to 2:00 AM on weekdays (the overlapping period between European and American trading sessions), market volatility is highest and trading volume is also highest—making it the best time for short-term trading. The downside is that leverage is a double-edged sword. If you get the direction wrong, losses will be amplified, so you must set a stop-loss.

If you’re an experienced futures trader, silver futures may better match your requirements for transparency and regulation. The standard contract on COMEX is 5,000 ounces, and the micro contract is 1,000 ounces. Margin is about 5% to 10% of the contract value, so capital efficiency is high. But futures come with expiration settlement pressure, meaning you need to roll positions frequently. For beginners, this is a relatively high barrier.

There’s also an option of investing in silver mining stocks, which lets you participate in silver price increases indirectly. Mining stocks often have volatility that’s 2 to 3 times that of silver prices. If the company operates well, you can also receive dividends. However, the stock price is influenced by factors such as company management, production costs, and regional risk—it doesn’t simply track the price of silver. You still need time to research the fundamentals of individual companies.

Whichever method you choose, in the end it depends on your own needs. Do you want long-term preservation of value to hedge against inflation? Physical silver is a solid starting point, but you need to be able to tolerate a 20% to 30% pullback. Do you want to use silver’s large volatility for short- to medium-term trading? Silver ETFs or CFDs usually have higher liquidity and more flexible trading hours. Do you have a smaller capital position and need time to trade after work? Then silver CFDs will be more friendly in terms of flexibility.

As for entry timing, you can refer to several indicators. First, look at the gold trend, because gold and silver typically move in the same direction, and gold is often the leading indicator for silver. Then combine fundamental and technical analysis, such as the U.S. Dollar Index, interest rate policy, RSI, and MACD indicators. Another key point is the gold-silver ratio. Historically, it has usually been range-bound between 50 and 80. When the ratio is too high (for example, above 100), it indicates that silver is relatively undervalued, which can offer a better entry opportunity.

One last note: silver’s average annual price swing is close to 20%, far higher than gold’s 14.7%. No matter which method you choose, you should first figure out how much loss you can tolerate before deciding how much capital and leverage to use. It’s not that you can make money only if you have more capital—it’s that you know how to make your money work effectively.