Onchain finance platform Theo introduced a yield-bearing tokenized silver product backed by more than $40 million of active leases, expanding its commodities-financing business beyond gold.
The token, called thSLVR, gives holders exposure to silver while passing on income generated by lending the underlying metal to institutional borrowers. Refiners, mints and industrial manufacturers routinely borrow silver to meet production needs without assuming price risk, paying lease fees and later returning an equivalent amount of metal.
How the Product Works
Token holders retain exposure to movements in the silver price while receiving the associated leasing income. The silver backing thSLVR will be leased to established institutional counterparties under standard market terms, with credit exposure supported by a parent-company guarantee.
Initially available in beta, thSLVR will be offered to institutions and whitelisted investors, with broader access planned later.
Market Context
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.
According to RWA.xyz, tokenized commodities now represent about $4.9 billion in distributed value across 130 products, led by gold-backed tokens from Tether and Paxos. The number of commodity-token holders rose 13% over the past month to almost 339,000.
Silver Supply Dynamics
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. London's one-month silver lease rate briefly climbed to about 39% in October 2025, compared with a historical norm below 1%. The market is projected to record a sixth consecutive annual supply deficit in 2026, with the shortfall estimated at 46.3 million ounces.
Theo's Expansion
Founded by former Optiver and IMC traders, Theo also offers yield-bearing tokenized gold and U.S. Treasury products. The silver leases will broaden the assets supporting thUSD, its yield-bearing stablecoin, which uses a hedged metals-lending strategy designed to generate returns without depending on the direction of commodity prices.
