The international trade competition in 2025 has far surpassed tariffs and shifted towards control of the industrial chain and strategic resources. Silver, a long-neglected industrial metal, is becoming the new focal point of this struggle.

Let's look at the data: China is the world's largest consumer of silver. Last year, total consumption reached 9,428 tons, with industrial demand accounting for 8,567 tons. That averages nearly 715 tons per month. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Futures Exchange's silver inventory is only 576 tons, approaching the 500-ton warning line. These are not small numbers.

Why is silver so tight? Because it is a core material in the photovoltaic, electric vehicle, and AI chip supply chains. Without silver, the efficiency of solar panels drops significantly, electric vehicle batteries underperform, and AI servers could crash due to inadequate cooling. China's share in these three industries continues to rise globally, leading to explosive growth in silver demand. This is the real reason why the Shanghai silver price remains consistently above London spot prices and why global silver flows eastward.

Even more critical is policy change. Starting January 1, 2026, silver exports will be subject to a licensing system with significantly increased control. This means the global silver supply pattern will accelerate its tilt toward inland regions, and the cost of access in international markets will only increase.

For the crypto industry, this phenomenon has several deep implications. First, industrial competition has penetrated into basic mineral resources, and the party controlling key resources holds the pricing power of the entire supply chain. Second, scarcity drives up costs, which ultimately leads to higher prices for end consumer products, having a tangible impact on the global economic cycle. Third, whoever controls the upstream of the supply chain will control the flow of wealth over the next decade—this is very similar to the liquidity competition logic within the crypto ecosystem.