Onchain Finance Platform Theo Launches Tokenized Silver thSLVR, Backed by $40M in Lease Support

Onchain finance platform Theo has announced the launch of thSLVR, a yield-bearing tokenized silver product backed by over $40 million in active leases, expanding its commodities financing business from gold to silver. The token passes through lease fee income paid by institutional borrowers to holders while maintaining their exposure to silver prices. Theo stated that the silver backing thSLVR will be leased to established institutional counterparties under standard market terms, with credit exposure guaranteed by the parent company. The product launched in beta, initially targeting institutional and whitelisted investors, with plans to broaden access later. Silver has been highly volatile this year, hitting an all-time high of $121.79 per ounce in January before crashing 41% in three days, falling to a low of $54.74 in July, and recently hovering around the mid-$60s. Founded by former Optiver and IMC traders, Theo previously offered yield-bearing tokenized gold and U.S. Treasury products, and the silver lease will further expand the underlying assets for its yield-bearing stablecoin thUSD. According to RWA.xyz data, the tokenized commodities market stands at approximately $4.9 billion, covering 130 products. The London 1-month silver lease rate briefly surged to around 39% in October 2025, versus a historical norm of below 1%; the market expects silver to post a sixth consecutive annual supply deficit in 2026, with a shortfall of approximately 46.3 million ounces.