Retail Traders Rotating to Whatever is Pumping: Santiment

Social media discussions about silver and gold have outpaced crypto on most days this month as retail investors have latched onto a recent rise in precious metal prices, according to market intelligence platform Santiment.

Gold discussion erupted in the second week of January as the metal hit new highs, and dominated social traffic between Jan. 8 and Jan. 18, according to Sanbase data shared in an X post from Santiment on Tuesday.

The third week of January saw interest briefly return to crypto as traders attempted to “try to buy dip on the way down,” with crypto topping social media discussions between Jan. 19 and Jan. 22. 

However, interest in silver has now spiked again as the precious metal hit new all-time highs, according to Santiment. Silver was also the most talked about between Jan. 1 and Jan. 6.

“Cryptocurrency traders are well known for jumping between different sectors within digital assets based on the latest & greatest hype cycles, eg, memecoins vs AI vs blue chips, etc,”  Santiment’s analysts said.

“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 and more interest based on wherever the latest pumps appear,” they added. 

Silver interest could mean a top: Santiment

Silver prices have been on the rise and hit a new all-time high of just over $117 on Tuesday, according to TradingView.

However, Santiment analysts said the interest and resulting fear of missing out (FOMO) among retail traders generally means a top is near.