Theo, a New York-based onchain finance platform founded by former Optiver and IMC traders, announced the launch of thSLVR on Wednesday, a tokenized silver product backed by $40 million in active leases to institutional borrowers.
thSLVR gives token holders exposure to silver price movements while distributing lease income from refiners, mints, and industrial manufacturers. Lease income has traditionally accrued to bullion banks and dealers rather than retail investors holding silver through ETFs or other products.
Iggy Ioppe, chief investment officer at Theo, said the timing reflects structural tightness in silver markets. “Silver is heading into a sixth straight year of supply deficit and the lendable pool in London is near a record low. In that setup the lease rate is the real signal, not the spot price, and it has been swinging hard. thSLVR brings the economics of silver lending onchain, and when the market gets tight, the value of that income becomes especially clear,” Ioppe said.
Silver lease rates climbed to approximately 39% in October 2025, far above the historical norm of around 1%. The metal surged to a record $121.79 per ounce in January 2026 before falling to $54.74 in July, a decline of 41% over three days at one point.
Market context
The tokenized commodities market currently represents $4.9 billion across 130 products, according to RWA.xyz. Tokenized gold dominates, with products from Tether and Paxos leading the space. Tokenized silver remains considerably smaller.
Existing silver tokens typically distribute platform trading fees rather than lending income. thSLVR’s structure differs by passing through actual lease economics to token holders.
Silver borrowers pay lease fees and return equivalent metal amounts without assuming price risk. London vaults hold 136 million ounces of silver available for trading and leasing, with 83% locked in physically backed investment products. A projected supply deficit of 46.3 million ounces is expected for 2026.
thSLVR is initially available in beta to institutions and whitelisted investors, with broader access planned for later. Theo also offers yield-bearing tokenized gold and U.S. Treasury products. Silver leases will support thUSD, Theo’s yield-bearing stablecoin using a hedged metals-lending strategy.
The tokenized commodities market has grown to 339,000 holders, a 13% increase over the past month.
