Swept aside by the gold and silver frenzy…interest in crypto assets declines

An analysis suggests that as gold and silver prices surge, investor attention on social media is shifting from crypto assets to precious metals. The shift in focus among retail investors chasing short-term price gains is becoming increasingly pronounced.

According to Cointelegraph on the 27th (local time), market data analytics platform Santiment said that mentions of gold and silver exceeded those of crypto assets for most of this month. Sanbase data show that gold was the most-mentioned asset on social media from January 8 to 18.

In the third week of January, interest in crypto assets rebounded temporarily. Santiment explained that during this period, investors stepped in to buy the dip, pushing crypto-asset mentions higher again from January 19 to 22. However, after silver prices hit a new all-time high, attention shifted back to precious metals.

Santiment analysts said retail investors’ asset preferences are shifting rapidly. “Crypto investors are accustomed to rotating between sectors within digital assets such as memecoins, artificial intelligence, and large-cap coins,” they said, adding that “recently, interest has been expanding beyond digital assets to other asset classes such as gold, silver, and equities.”

A warning also emerged over the spike in silver prices. According to Santiment, silver climbed above $117.70 per ounce intraday on the 27th, but as overheated retail interest peaked, it plunged below $102.70 in just two hours. Santiment noted that “strong retail FOMO typically signals prices are nearing a short-term top.”

Google Trends data indicate that interest in crypto assets has not faded entirely. Over the past seven days, the search index for “crypto” hit a high of 100, then moved between the 60s and 90s and is currently in the 80s. The Bitcoin search index also peaked at 100 and is now holding in the mid-80s.

Meanwhile, search interest in silver has been trending lower since peaking on January 22. Santiment added that if investor interest cools quickly after a short-term price spike, it cannot be ruled out that capital flows may shift again to other asset classes, including crypto assets.