Introducing thSLVR: Silver That Works for You | Theo

For as long as people have held silver, holding it has cost them money.

Storage runs higher for silver than for gold per dollar of value, because the same dollars take up far more vault space, and the ETFs that solved the custody problem still charge 0.30% to 0.50% a year.

The metal itself, though, has never been idle. Refiners, mints, and industrial fabricators borrow silver every day to run inventory without taking price risk, and they pay a lease rate for it. Traditionally, that income has gone to bullion banks and dealers. In October 2025, with London’s lendable silver at a record low, the one-month lease rate touched 34.9%, an all-time high against a norm below 1%. Most holders earned none of it. Rates have since come well off the peak but remain above the pre-2025 norm.

Today we’re announcing thSLVR: yield-bearing tokenized silver, launching with more than $40 million in silver leases already at work inside thUSD. It’s the third market Theo is bringing onchain, after treasuries and gold.

About thSLVR

thSLVR works the way thGOLD does. Instead of warehousing metal and charging fees, the silver backing thSLVR is leased to established counterparties through silver-denominated leases. They use the metal, then return the same amount plus interest. Holders keep full silver exposure and earn yield instead of paying to store it.

thGOLD built its inventory over time. thSLVR starts with more than $40 million in silver leases already at work before the product opens.

Inside the Silver Leasing Market

A refiner borrows metal for the weeks it takes to process and sell. A mint borrows ahead of a production run. A fabricator borrows to keep a line moving while shipments clear. The borrower takes delivery, uses the metal, and returns the same ounces plus the lease fee.

What makes silver’s lease market unusual is what it lacks: a lender of last resort. Central banks hold more than 36,000 tonnes of gold and lend into the market. They hold essentially no silver. The US strategic stockpile was gone by 2002, and the lendable pool today is private metal.

That thin supply meets structural demand. The silver market is running its sixth consecutive annual deficit, projected at 46.3 million ounces for 2026, and roughly 762 million ounces have come out of above-ground stocks since 2021. By late September 2025, freely available silver in London vaults had fallen to an estimated 136 million ounces, a record low. The lease market repriced accordingly.

A credit market where borrowing demand is industrial and lending supply is scarce rewards new, well-structured lending capacity. thSLVR puts holders on the supply side of that market.

Why Silver, Why Now

The price told the story first: silver posted its strongest year since 1979 in 2025 and set an all-time high in early 2026.

Tokenized silver hasn’t kept up with tokenized gold. Of the $5.01B in tokenized commodities RWA.xyz tracks, silver is about $33M (as of Sep 29, 2026). thSLVR launches with more than $40 million in silver leases already at work, and brings the leasing infrastructure behind thGOLD to silver.

A Stronger Engine for thUSD

thSLVR also changes what sits underneath thUSD. thUSD is a yield-bearing stablecoin backed by physical gold, silver, and basis capture. Dollars entering the system purchase and lease physical gold and silver, while CME futures hedge price exposure to keep thUSD pegged at $1.

thUSD’s leasing leg now spans both gold and silver: gold leased into gold-sector retailers, silver leased into industrial demand, each hedged in its own CME futures market. Same construction, broader lease book. The more than $40 million in silver leases behind thSLVR is already at work inside that engine. For the full mechanics, read our docs.

Launching in Beta

thSLVR is launching in beta and going live to the public soon. Applications are open now for institutions and approved investors who complete our onboarding process, with broader access to follow as liquidity and integrations build, the same phased approach we used for thBILL and thGOLD.

Theo builds financial products that let onchain capital access global markets. Its products include thBILL, tokenized exposure to a short-duration US Treasury fund managed by Wellington Management and custodied with Standard Chartered; thGOLD, yield-bearing tokenized gold; thSLVR, yield-bearing tokenized silver; and thUSD, a yield-bearing stablecoin backed by physical gold, silver, and basis capture.