Monthly Outlook: Silver, Memory, Clarity

The opening days of January have already given investors plenty to digest. Global markets have reacted to recent US action in Venezuela, with energy stocks such as Chevron [CVX] moving higher in response. At the same time, silver has surged into focus for CMC Invest clients, while AI winners have extended their strong run into the new year. Meanwhile, a key regulatory milestone for crypto is approaching in the United States.

Silver storms the charts

Through December and into early January, silver stepped out of gold’s shadow to become one of the most actively traded investments on the CMC Invest platform. In 2025, silver was one of the strongest-performing major assets globally, rising around 147%. Prices reached a record high of US$83.90 in late December before pulling back to around US$76.

Interest has been especially strong in ETPMAG, a physically backed silver ETF issued by Global X. It jumped to 13th place among the most traded products by retail clients in December, ahead of well-known gold ETFs such as GOLD at 18th and PMGOLD at 27th. For context, ETPMAG ranked 68th in November, reflecting a sharp surge in attention.

That momentum has carried into January. In the opening days of the year, ETPMAG climbed to 6th place overall. Beyond ETFs, some clients have also turned to listed silver miners for exposure, including Andean Silver Limited [ASL], Silver Mines Limited [SVL], Sun Silver Limited [SS1], and Investigator Resources [IVR]. All four also featured among the top 30 most watchlisted instruments on the platform from early December through early January.

Several factors underpinned silver’s rise over the past year. To start with, industrial demand has played a key role. Silver is used across technologies such as solar panels, electric vehicles, semiconductors and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Ongoing investment across these areas may continue to support demand for silver into 2026.

Geopolitical uncertainty, a weaker US dollar and ongoing inflation pressures have supported safe-haven interest. These same forces have also been factors in supporting gold prices, as discussed previously. Both retail and institutional investor flows are contributing to overall demand for silver.

Supply constraints remain an important part of the picture. The silver market has recorded a structural deficit for five consecutive years, with demand exceeding supply by more than 100 million ounces annually. Around 70% of global silver production is a by-product of mining other metals such as copper, lead and zinc, which limits how quickly supply can respond to higher prices. Furthermore, new silver mines can take 10 to 15 years to develop from initial discovery to full production.

Market structure may be adding another layer of pressure at times. Most silver trading does not involve physical delivery, instead occurring through paper contracts that reference silver prices rather than ownership of physical bars. This means paper claims on silver can significantly exceed the amount of metal immediately available. While this system generally functions smoothly, periods of increased demand for physical silver alongside constrained supply may place pressure on the market, showing up through higher physical premiums and increased price volatility.

The key question now is whether this represents a short-term peak in interest or the early stages of a longer-lasting trend. The remainder of January may provide further insight.

Memory trio extend podium streak into 2026

The top three performers in the S&P 500 last year weren’t household names. Instead, lesser-known players led the charge: SanDisk [SNDK], up 594%; Western Digital [WDC], up 282%; and Micron Technology [MU], up 239%. All three are specialists in memory and storage, two technologies that have become both critical and scarce in the AI boom.

That momentum has not slowed in 2026. On January 2, SanDisk, Micron, and Western Digital rose 16%, 10.5%, and 9% respectively, driven by surging AI demand and tight memory supply.

Memory refers to the electronic components in computing devices that store and quickly access data. Its impact is felt in everyday computing tasks. For example, think about having multiple apps or browser tabs open at once. Each one stores some data in memory so it can stay active and reload instantly when you return to it. With sufficient memory, everything runs smoothly. Without it, performance slows and applications can freeze or crash.

Now scale that up to the level of an AI data centre. Instead of juggling a dozen browser tabs, AI models process billions of data points simultaneously. During training and inference, they need instant access to vast amounts of information. The faster the memory, the better the model performs. Without it, processing slows, response times lag, or the model may not run at all.

As Micron puts it: “Memory technology is crucial for the performance and efficiency of AI and data-intensive infrastructure... As AI models grow in complexity, innovations in memory are essential for managing large data sets, enabling real-time processing, and improving energy efficiency.”

At the core of the rally in memory stocks is a classic squeeze. Too much demand, not enough supply. On the demand side, booming investment in AI infrastructure is driving strong earnings growth. In its latest results, Micron reported a 56% jump in quarterly revenue to $13.6 billion and a 175% surge in earnings per share to $4.60.

Supply, meanwhile, remains tight. With only a handful of major memory manufacturers globally, production is struggling to keep up. As one IDC analyst put it, “The memory market is at an unprecedented inflection point, with demand materially outpacing supply.”

Some reports suggest that parts of the product lineup, particularly high bandwidth memory (HBM), at companies such as Samsung and Micron, are already sold out through 2026. This imbalance is supporting higher prices and expanding margins. On the other hand, with great expectations comes a shrinking margin for error. And that may be the tightrope these AI picks and shovels need to walk this year, no matter how in demand their products are.

Is clarity coming for crypto?

Bitcoin [BTC/USD] is up 7% so far in 2026, after posting a 6% loss for the year in 2025. Much of last year’s volatility reflected how pivotal the Trump policy backdrop was for Bitcoin in 2025. A broadly pro crypto stance from Trump emerged as a key driver of market interest, while tariff related trade tensions weighed on risk sentiment at times. Now, another political development is back in focus, and it could have lasting implications for the crypto market.

US lawmakers have set January 15 as the target date for a key committee meeting on the long-delayed crypto regulation bill, informally known as The CLARITY Act. This session, known as a markup, is not a final vote. It is when senators debate the bill, propose changes, and decide whether to move it forward to the full Senate. If that happens, it would mark the most significant step yet toward creating formal rules for how digital assets are regulated in the United States.

The CLARITY Act aims to bring structure to a market that has operated for years without clear or consistent rules. Its goal is to reduce confusion, better protect consumers, and support innovation by giving crypto businesses and investors a more reliable legal framework. While the legislation is extensive and highly technical, some of the main things it seeks to do include:

• Clarifying the long-standing debate over whether certain digital assets should be treated as securities (like stocks) or commodities (like gold)

• Defining which parts of the crypto market fall under the responsibility of different federal regulators

• Creating clearer rules for intermediaries such as crypto exchanges, and outlining how new crypto projects can legally raise money from investors

If passed, the bill would mark a shift away from the current system of regulation through enforcement. This could reduce legal uncertainty and attract more crypto participation in the US. The bill may also have implications for core DeFi protocols such as Ethereum [ETH/USD], Solana [SOL/USD], Uniswap [UNI/USD], and Aave [AAVE/USD], which have operated amid ongoing regulatory uncertainty in the US. A more defined policy approach could influence how these projects are treated under future oversight.

For an industry that has long struggled with unclear and often inconsistent oversight, the January 15 markup may be the clearest sign yet that a more stable and supportive policy environment is finally within reach.

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