Silver Smashes $101 as Tech Titan Hoards 1.5% of Global Supply, Slams Crypto as “Psyop”

Silver has blasted through the $101 per ounce mark for the first time ever, fueled by economic panic and speculative mania, while a single player—Entrata founder David Bateman—has poured nearly $1 billion into the metal, claiming a staggering 1.5% of the world’s annual supply. His apocalyptic vision of a collapsing monetary system and outright rejection of cryptocurrencies as a “psyop” throw fuel on a fiery debate: is silver the ultimate safe haven, or a shiny bubble waiting to burst?

• Record Breaker: Silver tops $101 per ounce, with gold at $5,000, marking a historic precious metals surge.
• Colossal Bet: Bateman holds 12.69 million ounces, worth nearly $1 billion, started in October 2024.
• Doom Prophecy: He warns of a monetary collapse from a $300 trillion credit bubble, dismissing crypto as worthless.

Silver’s Stratospheric Surge: What’s Driving It?

The stats are nothing short of staggering. Silver prices have rocketed 147% in 2025 and tacked on another 40% in 2026, according to LSEG data, dragging the gold-to-silver ratio down to 50-to-1—a measure of how many ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold, and a level of silver outperformance unseen since 1983. This isn’t some quiet corner of the market; it’s a full-on frenzy pulling in everyone from institutional whales to retail investors rattled by global instability. Gold hitting $5,000 per ounce reflects a broader flight to safety, and silver, often gold’s scrappier sibling, rides the wave with a cheaper entry point that’s hard to resist.

At the heart of this storm stands David Bateman, a tech mogul turned silver warlord. Since October 2024, he’s amassed 12.69 million ounces, a hoard so massive it recalls Berkshire Hathaway’s 129.7 million-ounce silver play in the late 1990s, which they flipped for a fat profit by 2006. But unlike Warren Buffett’s calculated gamble, Bateman’s mission feels more like a crusade. He’s not just betting on price spikes—he’s banking on the end of the financial world as we know it. For more on this unprecedented move, check out the detailed report on silver breaking past $101 with a single investor’s massive control.

Bateman’s Billion-Dollar Bet and Doomsday Warning

“The global monetary system is about to collapse (The Great Reset, or Basel Endgame). The biggest credit bubble in history will soon pop ($300T),”

Bateman declares, laying out a grim forecast. That $300 trillion credit bubble he references is a mountain of debt—spanning governments, corporations, and households—that’s grown far beyond sustainable levels, threatening to implode and drag the economy down with it. Add to that $28 trillion in U.S. Treasuries set to mature over the next four years, essentially IOUs the government must repay or refinance, often at higher interest rates. Bateman also fingers policies like Trump’s tariffs as accelerators of economic decay, arguing they strain global trade and inflate costs. To him, traditional assets—stocks, bonds, even real estate—are nothing but landmines waiting to detonate.

And then there’s his take on cryptocurrencies, which is about as subtle as a sledgehammer.

“Gold and silver are the only meaningful life raft. Physical possession is everything. Crypto is a psyop. Those who purchase will have no chair when the music stops,”

he sneers, branding digital assets as a deceptive scheme, a psychological operation designed to dupe the masses. It’s a gut punch to the ethos of decentralization and financial freedom we hold dear in the crypto space. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the blockchain tech underpinning them are built to resist centralized control and inflation—goals not so far from Bateman’s own distrust of the system. Yet he insists physical metals, free from counterparty risk (the danger that someone else in a deal fails to deliver), are the only true refuge. And so far, his gamble’s paying off big.

“I’ve officially made more money in precious metals in a year than I did in tech in 20 years. Everyone’s invited to the party. It’s still early. Really early,”

Bateman brags, with returns reportedly north of 250% since he started buying. That’s the kind of profit that makes you wonder if he’s onto something—or just riding a lucky streak on a market high as a kite.

Market Risks: Is Silver a Bubble Waiting to Pop?

Not everyone’s buying the hype. Rhona O’Connell from StoneX calls this rally “self-propelled,” a runaway train powered more by fear and greed than hard fundamentals. Her warning is blunt.

“As and when cracks start to appear, they could easily become chasms. Buckle up,”

she says, signaling the kind of volatility that’s turned past commodity booms into brutal busts. Michael Widmer of Bank of America is even less optimistic, pegging silver’s fair value at just $60 per ounce—barely half its current price. His reasoning hinges on industrial demand, a critical piece of silver’s value puzzle. Unlike gold, which is mostly hoarded as a hedge, silver plays a dual role. It’s a precious metal, sure, but it’s also a key industrial input, used in everything from conductive wiring in electronics to photovoltaic cells—those components in solar panels that turn sunlight into energy. Widmer warns that solar demand, a major driver, is set to peak in 2025, while broader industrial use is already softening. If he’s right, the floor under silver’s price could vanish fast.

Let’s break this down for clarity. Silver’s industrial side makes its market tricky. When factories slow down or green tech hits a ceiling, demand drops, and prices can tank, leaving speculators like Bateman holding a very heavy, very expensive bag. Yet, silver’s accessibility—$101 versus gold’s $5,000 per ounce—keeps drawing in investors seeking shelter from economic storms, feeding the upward spiral. It’s a classic tug-of-war between fundamentals and FOMO, and history doesn’t always favor the optimists. Look at the Hunt Brothers in 1980, who tried to corner the silver market and drove prices to $50 per ounce (about $150 adjusted for inflation) before crashing spectacularly. Could Bateman’s hoard spark similar chaos? It’s not impossible.

The Man Behind the Metal: Genius or Lightning Rod?

Bateman himself is no stranger to controversy, and that’s putting it mildly. In 2022, he was booted from the board of Entrata, the property management software firm he founded, after sending an email alleging the COVID vaccine was part of a Jewish conspiracy to harm Americans. The backlash was swift and severe, with Entrata CEO Adam Edmunds publicly denouncing the remarks and pledging to fight such rhetoric. The incident paints a troubling picture, casting doubt on Bateman’s judgment even as his silver bet nets massive gains. Is he a prescient contrarian spotting a collapse others miss, or a reckless figure chasing conspiracies over reason? His track record in tech and now metals suggests financial savvy, but his past raises red flags that can’t be ignored.

Crypto Clash: Metals vs. Digital Safe Havens

Bateman’s outright dismissal of crypto as a “psyop” cuts deep for those of us who see Bitcoin and blockchain as the future of money. Let’s play devil’s advocate for a moment: could he have a point about crypto’s risks? Recent stablecoin debacles and exchange meltdowns like FTX show digital assets aren’t bulletproof. But his rejection ignores the core strength of blockchain—its censorship resistance and borderless nature offer a freedom physical metals can’t replicate. You can’t email silver across the globe in seconds, nor program it into smart contracts like Ethereum enables. And while silver might dodge counterparty risk, it’s not immune to theft, storage costs, or government confiscation, as history has shown with gold bans in the past.

Zooming out, both silver and Bitcoin reflect a shared distrust in centralized systems, a theme that resonates with our push for decentralization and effective accelerationism. The debt figures Bateman cites—$300 trillion globally—are real, and central bank missteps fuel inflation fears that drive investors to alternatives. If silver’s rally diverts capital from crypto in the short term, a crash in metals could send that money flooding back to Bitcoin, reinforcing its case as a decentralized hedge unbound by industrial whims. Perhaps there’s room for both in a fractured financial landscape, even if Bateman wouldn’t touch a Satoshi with a ten-foot pole.

What’s Next for Investors?

This silver saga is unfolding against a backdrop of raw uncertainty. Gold at $5,000 and silver at $101 scream “safe haven” to jittery markets, but history warns us these rushes can end in wreckage. Berkshire Hathaway walked away with profits in the ‘90s, but not without enduring wild swings. The Hunt Brothers’ collapse in 1980 tanked silver and ruined many who followed their lead. Bateman’s hoard, while jaw-dropping, isn’t shielded from those same perils. And if industrial demand does crater as analysts predict—say, solar panel growth stalls post-2025—the fallout could be brutal.

For us in the crypto space, this is a spectacle with lessons. Silver’s surge mirrors Bitcoin’s own meteoric rises, driven by fear of systemic failure. But where silver leans on physical scarcity and industrial need, Bitcoin offers digital scarcity and global access—two sides of the same anti-establishment coin. Whether Bateman ends up a prophet or a cautionary tale, one thing’s clear: at $101 per ounce, silver isn’t just gleaming—it’s glaring. And much like a Bitcoin pump, the higher it climbs, the harder it could fall. Strap in; this ride’s nowhere near over.

Key Questions and Takeaways on Silver’s Surge and Crypto’s Role

• What’s powering silver’s climb past $101 per ounce?
  A blend of economic fear pushing demand for safe havens like gold and silver, speculative momentum dubbed “self-propelled” by experts, and silver’s lower cost luring diverse investors.
• Why does David Bateman foresee a global monetary collapse?
  He flags a $300 trillion credit bubble and $28 trillion in maturing U.S. Treasuries, alongside policies like Trump’s tariffs, as harbingers of systemic breakdown.
• Is silver overpriced at $101, and what are the risks?
  Analysts like Michael Widmer estimate a fair value of $60, pointing to peaking solar panel demand in 2025 and declining industrial use as threats to sustained prices.
• Why does Bateman scorn cryptocurrency for precious metals?
  He labels crypto a “psyop,” a manipulative trap lacking real value, unlike physical gold and silver which he sees as tangible and free of counterparty risk.
• Does Bateman’s controversial history undermine his predictions?
  His 2022 antisemitic remarks and ousting from Entrata may dent trust in his judgment for some, though his silver profits demonstrate undeniable market success.
• How might silver’s rally affect Bitcoin and crypto adoption?
  It could temporarily pull investment away from digital assets as a competing hedge, but a silver downturn might drive capital back to Bitcoin as a decentralized alternative.