Blockchain finance platform Theo launches tokenized silver backed by $40 million in active leases

The product launches with more than $40 million of leases committed, the firm said. Initially available in beta, thSLVR will be offered to institutions and whitelisted investors, with broader access planned later.

Tokenized silver remains a considerably smaller market than tokenized gold, which has grown to several billion dollars across multiple products. Existing silver tokens that offer returns typically distribute a portion of platform trading fees rather than income earned by lending the underlying metal.

Tokenized commodities

The tokenized real-world asset market has expanded rapidly beyond U.S. Treasuries and private credit into equities, funds and commodities. Tokenized commodities now represent about $4.9 billion in distributed value across 130 products, led by gold-backed tokens from Tether and Paxos, while the number of commodity-token holders rose 13% over the past month to almost 339,000, according to RWA.xyz

Silver leasing rates can rise sharply during periods of limited physical availability. Around 83% of the silver held in London vaults is locked in physically backed investment products, leaving about 136 million ounces available for trading and leasing, according to data cited by Theo.

London’s one-month silver lease rate briefly climbed to about 39% in October 2025, compared with a historical norm below 1%. Rates have since normalized, though the market is projected to record a sixth consecutive annual supply deficit in 2026, with the shortfall estimated at 46.3 million ounces.